NERV: Evangelion Pilot Academy
by Haley Freezepop
Summary: The Evangelion pilots are cadets in an Eva pilot training academy in this AU. The trials of school life coupled with the stresses of training to save the world are explored here. Expect flashbacks of Gehirn era Project E as well. *On temporary hiatus*
1. Chapter 1: Introduction and Prologue

**NERV: Evangelion Pilot Academy**

Author's Note: Along with this story the cadets and some of the faculty of NERV Academy are on twitter for "communication" and for recreational blogging. If you want to follow these postings, navigate to the twitter account of NERVAcademy. Every member of NERV's accounts are linked there so you can follow them individually or they are also on lists for easy following. (There's a list for everyone and separate lists that include just the faculty and just the cadets, depending on preferences). It's not necessary for you to follow these postings, they're just extra characterization and background story. I'll put links to the NERVAcademy page and my personal twitter on my author profile. As I said, if you have no interest in following them, that's fine. Anyway, please read and review!

_Chapter 1: Introduction and Prologue_

**Introduction **

First and foremost, this story is an alternate universe story. It can be considered one of the potential alternate realities that Shinji experienced during the events of Third Impact, but it is not one that was shown in the sequences, however.

It could be considered a slight merging of the Evangelion and Gunbuster universes. So the differences are, of course, important to understand before the story can proceed.

First, the world of this story: Second Impact occurred, but on a slightly later date (13th September 2004, instead of 2000). Adam was defeated by an Evangelion unit that was developed using Lilith's cells and the projected shape of Adam. Unit 00 was piloted by two pilots, Ikari Yui and Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin. They were both killed, but were able to defeat Adam.

Angels are predicted to return, but nobody knows when. Also unknown is how the scientists at Gehirn's Project E got their hands on Lilith or know of Adam before he even appeared, or how exactly the idea for the Evangelions was conceived to begin with (though the reasons are relatively unchanged from the series).

The Evangelions: They have been modified from the original prototype. Originally, two pilots were necessary and they had to remain as synchronized with each other as possible. However, now the Evas have their own digital souls. The more synchronized a pilot becomes with an Evangelion, the more their own AT field is amplified through the Eva, which of course means the more powerful it becomes. If a pilot were ever to reach a 100% sync ratio, then the pilot and the Eva would essentially be one, and the pilot's AT field would be projected around the Eva at full strength. However, since the Evas have their own minds, they at times become the dominant mind in the pairing and berserk. This is of course different from the series in that the AT fields there were generated by the souls of the Evas themselves (as Asuka says in End of Evangelion, the AT field was her mother protecting her). Evangelion production is very slow and a pilot is only assigned to an Eva when there is no reasonable doubt that they can both synchronize well and maintain control over the unit.

NERV academy: It is both a military training academy and a regular school. The students all receive a full curriculum of normal subjects, but also receive Eva specific training, both in how to operate them and also in how the systems work and other subjects related to them.

Cast of characters:

**NERV personnel** (in alphabetical order)

_Cpl. Agano Kaede_: Facilities manager at NERV Academy. She's in charge of maintenance coordination at the academy. Everything and everyone involved with maintenance, from repairing the Eva units and systems to changing the lightbulbs is under her supervision. She's energetic and upbeat, and generally friendly unless she's focused and stressed.

_Dr. Akagi Naoko (Deceased?)_: She was the project leader of the Project E in Gehirn after Yui's death and the head developer of both the MAGI supercomputer and the retooled Evangelions. She was one of the most brilliant minds in history, but she went insane and committed suicide around the time that NERV was being founded to start training pilots for Evas. There is a rumor that she is actually still alive and is receiving treatment for her psychosis, but there is no actual proof of that.

_Dr. Akagi Ritsuko_: The brilliant daughter of Naoko (though she isn't quite as brilliant as her mother was and consequently lives under her shadow), Ritsuko is both the head physician and the head technician for the MAGI computers. It is often she, with the help of the MAGI, who develop theories on what forms the Angels might take as they attack and developing the virtual training programs the pilots use. She is also most responsible for the improvements on the modern design of the Evangelions and she also oversees their repair and maintenance. It was she who fine-tuned the Soul Pattern Copy system so that the resultant copies weren't completely psychotic. Though she is basically friendly with the pilots, she is very business-like and serious most of the time.

_2Lt. Aoba Shigeru_: He is the arts teacher. He teaches the students music and music theory, as well as visual arts such as painting, photography, and video. He also offers a philosophy class as an elective, which is one of the more popular classes at the academy. Professor Aoba is one of the most popular teachers at the school because of his laid back, liberal attitude.

_Prof. Fuyutsuki Kozo_: Deputy Head of NERV academy. Professor Fuyutsuki often acts as a counselor for young pilots, almost always making time to talk to them when they need help. Though he is just as driven as Ikari, he is much more compassionate. He also teaches the pilots the sciences, both the normal science classes as well as the Eva-specific sciences.

_2Lt. Hyuga Makoto_: The linguistics and literature teacher for the pilots. He teaches them both Japanese and world literature and language skills. He also offers classes in Latin, Greek and English, as well as literature-specific related courses as electives.

_Lt. Ibuki Maya_: She is the math and computer science teacher for the pilots and also assists Dr. Akagi when upgrading the MAGI system. She also teaches them Eva related computer operational procedures and theories. She is friendly with the pilots, but is considered something of a prude, rather unjustly. She doesn't really mind the pilots blowing off steam, but she just doesn't want them doing it while she's trying to teach them things that will keep them alive. Outside of the classroom, she is rather friendly with the pilots and often enjoys playing networked computer games with them.

_HM Ikari Gendo_: Not much different. Still Shinji's father. Still a cold, driven son of a bitch. He acts both as headmaster of NERV pilot academy and supreme commander of the Evangelion force if and when Angels attack. He seems to know more about what is going on then he lets on. He was, of course, Yui's husband and he has been involved in one way or another in the development and use of the Evangelions from the beginning. He was, through Yui, one of the most influential members of SEELE, the overseers of Gehirn and Project E, before founding the NERV academy.

_Dr. Ikari Yui (Deceased)_: The daughter of one of the founding members of SEELE, she was one of the driving forces behind the development of the Eva units. She was the first to realize that two souls attempting to merge into one would be required to project an AT field in an Eva unit, a feat that she showed natural talent at. Thus she volunteered, or more accurately, strong-armed her status as one of the pilots of Unit 00. She had a fairly passionate love for her husband Gendo, an exceptionally loving and protective relationship with Shinji, and deep affection for and trust in both Kozo and Kyoko. She, along with her co-pilot Kyoko, gave her life to defeat Adam and end the devastation of Second Impact.

_Mr. Kaji Ryoji_: He is one of the most eclectic teachers. He officially teaches physical education, but it goes far beyond that. He teaches them the martial arts and hand to hand combat that is most effective in Eva-Angel combat, but he also teaches such things as archery (Kyudo), meditation, tai chi, fitness and stealth. Kaji's class seems to be one of the most effective at helping young pilots develop the skills necessary to both synchronize with an Evangelion, as well as to maintain control over it in the most stressful situations. It is rumored that he was once a spy or an assassin and it is also rumored that he is romantically involved with Professor Katsuragi. Given the large number of female students that have a crush on him and the large number of male students that have a crush on Misato, this rumor tends to start a lot of fights among those that repeat it around those that don't want to hear it.

_Maj. Katsuragi Misato_: One of the most popular teachers due to her friendliness and beauty, she is in charge of teaching the pilots both military tactics and Eva combat. When the students pilot the virtual Evas, it is Misato overseeing them. She is also the most responsible for choosing pilots for completed Evangelions and is the most accountable should problems occur.

_SSgt. Mogami Aoi_: Chief supply and procurement officer at NERV Academy. She's ultimately responsible for maintaining the supplies of everything from paperclips to Eva weaponry. She tends to be polite but a bit aloof, almost always remaining serious and focused on the task at hand.

_Sgt. Oi Satsuki_: Head cook at NERV Academy. She's in charge of planning and cooking the meals. She takes great pride in her cooking and is always pleased to see people enjoying her meals. She's also in charge of maintaining supplies of food, so if someone wanted anything special, it's a good idea for them to be on Satsuki's good side.

_Dr. Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin (Deceased)_: Another brilliant scientist working on the Gehirn Project E, she was the originator of the Soul Pattern Copy system, but it wasn't anywhere close to being finished when Adam attacked. She produced rough copies of the souls of many of the Project E scientists that Ritsuko was able to fine-tune into viable Eva souls, however. She was also the one to do the most test-piloting of Unit 00 and was the natural choice of combat pilot. She had an extremely close friendship with Yui, and they hoped their children might one day marry.

_Prof. Yamamoto Arashi_: He teaches history. Japanese history, military history, and cultural history are his specialties. He also teaches students Modern Cultural Anthropology in a Post-Second Impact World. He is considered the most boring and forgettable teacher in the academy. In fact, students often forget his name, leading them to just refer to him as "professor".

**NERV Students/Pilots-in-training** (In alphabetical order)

_OCdt. __Aida Kensuke_: A geek and military buff, he comes from a long line of soldiers. Though he studies and works the hardest at Eva training out of all the pilots, he still consistently achieves the lowest sync ratio out of all the trainees, a source of constant frustration for him. He also has an insatiable curiosity and seems to always carry a camcorder.

_Plt. Off. Ayanami Rei_: The first pilot selected to pilot an Eva, in this case the rebuilt Unit 00. She is quiet, shy, and many consider her to be anti-social. But the truth is she just doesn't have very good social skills and has a hard time relating to people or even to herself emotionally. She has been at the school since its founding and is in fact a legal ward of the school itself. It should be noted that in this story, Rei did have parents but they died when she was still fairly young (I'll say 7-8ish). She is, then, not a clone of Lilith or Yui. Sorry. ;)

_OCdt. __Horaki Hikari_: Though she is one of the hardest working pilot trainees, she is actually deathly afraid of being chosen to be a pilot. She enjoys all the other classes, since NERV has the highest quality education program in the post-Second Impact world, but she has no interest in actually being a pilot. Her fear and lack of a fighting spirit gives her the second lowest sync ratio of all the pilots, which suits her just fine.

_OCdt. __Ikari Shinji_: The troubled hero, of course. I've based him more on the manga version of Shinji rather than the anime version in this story, so rather than being constantly withdrawn and meek, he's angrier over his father's abandonment but still rather shy and occasionally mopey. Though he is naturally talented at piloting the Evas, he is reluctant to do so, not so much out of fear, but out of resentment towards his father. He was raised by an extremely strict uncle after his mother's death when he was a child, rather than by Gendo himself. He now lives under the constant shadow of following in his mother's footsteps and living up to his father's impossibly high expectations. He has an intense rivalry with Asuka and they constantly try to show up one another in Eva training. It is believed that either he or Asuka will be the next pilot to be assigned to an Eva unit. He also has a natural affinity with Rei and he is constantly teased over how interested in her he seems to be. The ease at which they work together, coupled with the boy's natural talent might just edge out Asuka to be selected as the next pilot of an Evangelion.

_OCdt. __Kirishima Mana_: She was originally going to pilot an Eva-alternative robot similar to the Jet Alone (that nuclear-powered robot that nearly melted down) called the Trident, but it was deemed a failure due to its inability to project the pilot's AT field thus rendering it useless to battle angels. So she was reassigned to the NERV academy, where she remains an average student. She has a friendly or even bubbly personality but is occasionally shy and indecisive. She is also rather inquisitive (read: nosey) and tends to lead the more shy students (like Rei and Shinji) to lots of cute blushing, and the more assertive students (like Asuka and Toji) to various states of annoyance.

_OCdt. __Makinami Mari Illustrious_: Adventurous, determined, quirky, a little clumsy, but always with a friendly smile on her lips. She, like Asuka, is of mixed heritage, in her case British and Japanese. She speaks both English and Japanese fluently. She is not as naturally gifted as Rei, Shinji and Kaoru, but like Asuka and Aida, she works hard at making up for her lack of natural talent with hard work and skill. On the negative side, however, she has a troubling tendency to rush into combat alone and gets "in the zone" and often fails to communicate with command, so she is lower in priority selection than she would otherwise be. She also has an odd LCL fetish and is the only pilot who actually likes the smell of the fluid. She is also, as stated by Asuka, "blind as a mole rat" without her glasses on, and her bouts of clumsiness often lead to her dropping her glasses and having to try to find them again.

_OCdt. __Nagisa Kaoru_: Another pilot-trainee who seems to have a natural talent with piloting the Evas, he also seems to be the least interested. His true interests lie more in music and art. His tendency to question every order and instruction he receives keep him low on the pilot selection list, despite his talents. He is not one of the angels in this story, but his personality remains relatively unchanged. He is considered a slacker by his fellow pilots, due to his laid back attitude and poetic soul. He's the type of person who seems to consider himself everyone's best friend and tends to be a lot more informal and friendly with people than they are normally comfortable with.

_OCdt. __Soryu Asuka Langley_: Though she is not as naturally talented as Rei, Shinji, and Kaoru at piloting the Evas, she is the hardest working among them. She is the most gifted intellectually among all the pilots and also the most tactically-minded. She's also a natural leader, despite her overly-aggressive personality. Her sync ratios, despite having less natural talent than the other cadets, are consistently amongst the highest, so it is believed she will likely be assigned to pilot Unit 01 when it is approved for piloting. Unlike most of the other pilots, who are Japanese born and raised, she was born and raised in Germany where she was the test subject for the pilot training and her improving synchronization ratio showed that the training at NERV Academy would be effective, thus earning the Academy the green light from the United Nations to open and begin training cadets.

_OCdt. __Suzahara Toji_: The most physically gifted of the pilots, though he is only a mediocre at best pilot. He has a strong sense of duty and obligation, however, and is rather high up on the list of potential pilots as a result. He doesn't seem to take his classes very seriously, but in fact it's really only that he has a lot on his mind because his little sister is terminally ill. Being in the pilot program entitles the girl, as his only surviving family, to receive the best care possible in the NERV ward of the Tokyo-3 hospital, but her condition is still terminal. Toji tries to visit her at least twice a week and he tries not to let the matter depress him.

**Evangelions**

_Unit 00 Mark I - Orange_: Originally set to have two pilots, one support pilot to maintain and control the AT field and prepare weapons, and one combat pilot to do the actual piloting, the pilots were Ikari Yui and Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin. In their fateful battle with the angel dubbed Adam, they destroyed the angel but lost their own lives as well. The Evangelion was heavily damaged and had to be almost completely rebuilt. The primary difficulty found in the Eva Mark I unit, they discovered, was in having to use two human pilots. Despite living and training together and their best efforts to synchronize successfully, dissonance caused simply by two different independent minds proved too unstable. Thus, a change had to be made.

_Unit 00 Mark II – Blue_: Rebuilt utilizing the new one pilot system with updated armaments, this unit is otherwise similar to the former Eva used by the two pilots in design and looks, except for being blue in color as per Ayanami's preference. The prototype digital soul in this unit has proven to be borderline psychotic, however, and improvements to future models were made using the personality patterns of former Gehirn pilots and employees rather than a completely manufactured digital soul. Thus, Unit 00 (or Eva Blue) has been known to rampage on rare occasions.

Future units will be introduced as the story progresses. There will be differences.

--

Prologue

_September 2004 – Hokone, Japan_

Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin sat watching her daughter Asuka and her best friend Yui's son Shinji playing together. An amused smile formed on her lips when her daughter started bossing the boy around, directing him on what toys he was to play with and how his toys were to interact with her toys. Shinji was verbally protesting, but eagerly following her directions regardless. She thought about how well they got along and had bright hopes for their future together. She looked up as Yui walked in, a hitch in her walk making it apparent what had kept her busy for the last half hour or so. "Don't tell me… on the washing machine again?"

Yui giggled and shrugged in a feigned innocent gesture. "What can I say, folding laundry drives Gendo crazy."

Kyoko smirked and shook her head. "More like watching you bend over and shake your hips as you iron and fold the laundry is what gets him going. There's a reason he follows you in to watch, you know."

"There's a reason I make sure to announce when I'm going to do laundry, as well. Shinji doesn't go down there so it's one of the only places we don't have to worry about him walking in on us." Yui remarked. She shook her head as she looked at her son, nothing but adoration in her eyes despite the exasperated tone in her voice. "It only took two times of that little rascal climbing into bed with us while Gendo and I were being affectionate for us to come up with alternatives."

The half-German scientist sighed and shook her head. "I envy you, my dear Yui. At least your husband still touches you."

Yui rested her head on Kyoko's shoulder. "If that was what you really wanted, you'd touch him instead."

Kyoko smiled wistfully, knowing her friend was right. "Well, be that as it may…" She coughed, discretely changing the subject. "Did the Soul Copy hurt? It stung like hell when I did mine and gave me a migraine."

"It wasn't too bad. I've gotten worse headaches talking to my father." Ikari remarked. She glanced at the door, overhearing Gendo arguing with someone on the telephone. She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Speaking of my father…" She laughed softly, letting the sentiment go unspoken. She made sure to remain the apple of her father's eye, which was difficult because she considered the man a blithering idiot.

"Same argument, different day. Unit 00 is complete but it still needs two pilots to make it work. And I'm nowhere near figuring out how to use the Soul Patterns as a viable alternative to a second pilot." Soryu remarked. "They make it sound like I've been lazy. We didn't even know that one soul wasn't enough to create an AT field until two years ago. I'm not a miracle-worker." She grumbled.

Yui smiled playfully. "I could argue with that." She remarked.

"Hold on, I've got another call. I'll call you back later and we can discuss this further." After a brief pause he started talking to his new caller. "Hello? Fuyutsuki, what's… Antarctica?! You're sure? Those arrogant bastards… we warned them something like this might happen. Damn… no there's no helping it, we'll have to transport Unit 00 there. I'll take care of it." Gendo stated grimly, hanging up the phone. He stepped into the room where the people who meant the most to him in the world waited. The apprehensive expressions on their face made it clear they had overheard him and understood the significance of his words. "We have to get Unit 00 to Antarctica immediately. It's Adam… he's waking up. Katsuragi was performing some kind of test and now there're energy readings that are off the scale."

A sense of dread settled over their hearts. Kyoko shook her head in disbelief. "The digital souls aren't ready. We'll have to use a support pilot."

"You have one." Yui stated firmly, dropping her hand onto her friend's.

"No! You'll be needed here to direct Kyoko and her co-pilot from Control." Gendo stated in a desperate tone.

Yui shook her head sadly, looking over at Shinji. He had stopped playing and was staring at her, feeling the tension in the air but not understanding what the cause was. He didn't even notice when Asuka flicked his ear in an attempt to regain his attention. "No one knows more about the Eva than I do. No one is as close to Kyoko as I am. There _is_ no one else, Gendo. I have to do this. For Shinji's sake, if you won't let me do it for yours."

"What about the Spear? We're going to have to have it back to reseal Adam." Kyoko remarked worriedly as she started gathering her things to leave.

"SEELE will simply have to hand it over. They know as well as we do what will happen when Adam wakes up fully. All the knowledge in the universe won't mean a damned thing if we're wiped from existence." Gendo remarked grimly. He cast his gaze on to his wife.

Yui smacked her hand into her face and let out a weary sigh. "I'll call him." She grumbled. She turned away from the other two so that she wouldn't have to see the looks of sympathy, or worse, pity on their faces. "Dad. Adam is waking up, we need that Spear. No! You can't have it for another damn week, we need it _now_! Adam will kill everything and you know it! Yes, we're leaving immediately. Yes, of course Soryu is piloting it." She paused and glanced over her shoulder at her husband as she winced at the next question. "No, of course not. It'll be… ah… Aida I think. I'll ask Kyoko… yes sir… I… love you too, dad. Bye."

Hope started lighting up Gendo's face. "So, Shiori will be support pilot?"

"No, Gendo. I just told my dad that so he'd hand over the Spear of Longinus. I can't allow his over-protectiveness to doom humanity." Yui paused and fixed her husband with a determined look. "Or yours." Seeing the hope diminish from his eyes, however, made her expression soften in sympathy. "Shiori is a competent enough soldier, but she doesn't know the first thing about attuning her soul to someone else's. It would be little better than sending Kyoko out there alone."

Gendo held his beloved wife close and whispered into her ear, "I don't want to let you go, my darling. I don't know what I would do without you."

Yui kissed her husband's neck as she returned the embrace and whispered back, "I'll come back to you. I promise."

--

_13th September 2004 – Mt. Markham, Antarctica_

Tremors shook the ice, causing a multitude of cracks to form in the thick ice that covered the White Moon of Adam. The Katsuragi research station above it started to collapse as the quakes rose in intensity. Standing before the site of the wreckage was Evangelion Unit 00, its monstrous orange armor glowing in the Antarctic sun. Inside the bio-mechanoid, Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin, the combat pilot, shivered in anxiety. "It's coming. The beast draws near." She hissed.

"I'm here with you, Kyoko. Stay focused." Ikari Yui stated, reaching down from the support seat to rest her hand on her dearest friend's shoulder. She glanced down, worriedly keeping an eye on the supply truck that had their power source upon it. If the umbilical power cord got severed or they got out of the reach of the truck in the battle, they'd have at most a minute of active power before they, and the hopes of all life on earth, were finished.

A hand, glowing with crackling white energy, burst out of the ice and an unearthly sound that seemed to radiate straight up from hell filled the air. Kyoko choked on her fear and let her eyes shut for a moment. "The lord is my shepherd… I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures… he leadeth me beside the still waters." She murmured.

"Left!" Yui cried suddenly.

Kyoko immediately ducked Unit 00 to the left, narrowly missing taking a massive ice boulder to the face. "My head… my god Yui, it's in my head!" She gasped out.

They both looked up fearfully as the gargantuan Seed of Life tore free of the ice imprisoning it. It let out a roar that would send a chill up the devil's spine as it tasted freedom for the first time in three billion years. Yui gritted her teeth in sudden pain as an energy wave hit them, seeming to tear at their very souls. "Anti… AT field! Don't let it… Kyoko! I'm with you… focus… on me! Have to keep… field up!"

Kyoko coughed as blood trickled from her mouth, but she managed to keep her thoughts focused on her co-pilot enough to maintain their AT fields. "Initiating attack plan!" She announced through clenched teeth, sending Unit 00 into a run straight for the first angel.

Adam fixed its eyes on them seemed to give them a grin born of pure wickedness. A moment later the energy field surrounding it enlarged at an exponential rate. Unit 00 collapsed as what could only be called anti-life struck them full force. It tore at their minds, just as it sought to pry apart the very bonds that kept their bodies whole.

Kyoko screamed in agony as the mouth of madness opened up around her. She stared into the horrifying visage of the monster before her and her mind simply couldn't process what she was seeing and remain intact. "It's… horrible. But also… beautiful. God in heaven… I can't…"

Yui was faring little better, she clutched at her temples as the sheer horror of the godlike being before them washed over them. The energy it released had already melted away the bodies of the Katsuragi research team and the soldiers who had accompanied them and they could see the souls of those fallen people floating into the air. The energy field was expanding ever faster, forcing the bodies of all those it touched into inert primal ooze and sending their souls back into the Black Moon of Lilith where they had originated from. If Adam wasn't stopped quickly, all life on Earth, even down to the bacteria, would vanish, to make room for the Angels who were the rightful inheritors of Earth. The thought of Gendo, Shinji and Kozo came to her then, of their bodies turning into sludge and their souls vanishing into uncreation. "No… Kyoko. Kyoko! Look at me, goddamnit!" She pulled herself down until she was in Kyoko's lap and she placed her hands behind her dearest friend's ears and looked into her maddened eyes. "Asuka and Shinji." She stated firmly.

Kyoko blinked a few times as a spark of reason resurfaced in her mind. "It's going to kill them." She stated in a whisper of realization.

"Shut everything else out, Kyoko. Think only of our children and me. You got that? Just Asuka, Shinji, and me. We're stopping Adam." Yui stated in a hiss, summoning up every scrap of willpower in her body to make her mind as one with Kyoko's.

Soryu's eyes closed for a moment, the sparkling blue eyes and fiery red hair of her precious daughter came to her mind. Holding her hand was the ever compassionate and loving Shinji. "For our children…" She opened her eyes and forced Unit 00 to stand. A step towards Adam and the power cable snapped. Sparing none of her thoughts over the active power countdown that had popped up on the displays, she ran the orange-armored behemoth towards Adam, ready to thrust the Spear of Longinus into the giant of light's core and deactivate him and his anti-AT field. With a cry of rage, she stabbed the Spear forward.

Adam caught the Spear at the last moment and stared at them as they fought over the weapon. Unit 00 pressing forward trying to impale the beast, and the Angel holding it back. Every second that passed meant thousands of more people's souls were released, their lives suddenly and senselessly ended.

Yui put her hands on the hand control also, lending her strength to the battle. "Die… just die, damn it!" She gasped out desperately. She could feel her body start to lose cohesion, the strength of their AT field not quite enough to block out the angel's energy anymore.

"I've always… loved you… Yui. I'm sorry if that made you feel…" Kyoko gasped out, her last thoughts of confessing the passion in her heart.

Yui looked up and gave her friend a kind smile and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I know. I cherish you and accept you. I love Gendo but… there's room in my heart for you too."

Tears fell from Kyoko's eyes. "For Asuka and Shinji then."

Yui nodded and they both cried out in fierce determination, finally forcing the Spear of Longinus into Adam's body and rendering him inert. Unit 00 fell silent as the souls of Ikari Yui and Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin were released, the last act of their dissolving bodies being delivering the death blow to Adam.

--

"Reports are coming in. My god… millions of people are dissolving! An Anti-AT field is expanding from the south pole!" A technician reported.

"Are there any visuals on Unit 00 and Adam? What's going on?" Gendo Ikari demanded, ignoring the reports on the holocaust happening in the southern hemisphere.

"There's a lot of interference but…" A violent shockwave hit the headquarters a few moments later. Reports of massive devastation all over the planet started to come in. Buildings all over the world were reduced to rubble as the entire planet shook and shifted. Megatons of ice and dust were thrown into the atmosphere. In short, Second Impact had occurred.

Sometime later, after they had all picked themselves back up and gotten the computers running again, the reports came in. "Initial estimates show that well over a billion people were killed by the Anti-AT field. It looks like… my god… the southern hemisphere is completely dead! Up to two billion people, gone." A technician reported, staring at the readouts in horror.

"Reports are coming in that the quakes we felt were all over the world. They think the whole rotational axis of the planet was shifted!" Another technician reported.

"My god…" Fuyutsuki murmured, pressing his hand to his face as he contemplated the calamity that had befallen humanity. "What's the status of Adam?" He inquired.

All was silent for several minutes as they tried to process the results. "Initial reports indicate… Adam is dormant once again. Unit 00 succeeded."

"Thank god… we're saved." The professor remarked in wonder bordering on disbelief.

"What of Unit 00? How soon can we send a transport vehicle to collect the pilots?" Gendo inquired anxiously.

The head technician turned to look at the commander with a grim expression on his face. "I'm sorry sir. There are no life signs at all in the southern hemisphere. Including the pilots of Unit 00. They're killed in action, sir."

"Check again!" Gendo yelled in fury.

"Reports indicate that the pilots AT fields collapsed at the last moment. They received the full force of the Anti-AT field as Unit 00 made its final attack. No chance of survival was possible, sir." Another technician confirmed.

Gendo stared down at the technicians, obviously in shock. Kozo stepped forward to speak on his behalf. "Start casualty assessment and assistance. Find a way to retrieve Unit 00 as well."

"Sir, there's something else. Reports show energy readings leaving Adam before he was rendered inert. We think… we think he released seeds." A technician reported.

"What does that mean?" Professor Fuyutsuki inquired.

"Offspring, sir. Adam had offspring." The head technician responded.

Kozo's eyes closed in a moment of silent prayer. "God in heaven…" He let out a weary sigh. "How many?"

"Unable to determine that, sir. But estimates show at least a dozen." Came the answer.

"So it's not over yet. We'll have to be ready when they come. If there are any way to track them, find it. In the mean time, you have your orders." He deactivated the communication systems from the command deck and turned to face Gendo Ikari. "It looks like Yui will have her hands full with producing more Evangelions." He stated.

Gendo raised his gaze to stare at the man before him, grim and silent.

Kozo's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Ikari? What's… where's Yui?"

"She was the support pilot, Fuyutsuki." Gendo responded, his voice choking with grief.

Professor Fuyutsuki had to lean back against the consoles behind him as shock numbed his body. "Oh god…" He shook his head at the sheer insanity of the day. "What did Katsuragi do to awaken that beast?" He frowned as he looked over the final reports by the Katsuragi research team. "They introduced human DNA to Adam's body to see what would happen. I guess they got their answer." His eyes narrowed as he looked at the initial reports on the energy readings. "My god this is…"

Commander Ikari looked up, recognizing the man's tone. "What is it?" There had been a glimmer of hope in the other man's voice.

Kozo pulled off a printout of the readings and handed it over other man. Gendo looked it over, seeing what could potentially have happened with the combination of Adam's and Lilim DNA if it had been controlled. "SEELE will make this realization too." Gendo stated. He had the feeling their actions involving the results would be different from his own, however. "We have some plans to make."

--

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to NERV Academy

**NERV: Evangelion Pilot Academy**

Author's Note: Reference chapter 1 for student&faculty list. As a reminder, as a bonus to this story, also check the twitter account for NERVAcademy. Student and teacher twitter accounts are listed there. You can follow a list or individuals, as your preference, or ignore it completely. It's just bonus characterization outside of the constraints of the story or whatever.

New Note: I didn't realize that Twitter didn't let people search more than a few weeks back... plus a number of the messages weren't displaying. So my solution for now is to post the NERV message log for the days pertaining to each chapter at the end of the chapter. If there's a problem with this, I'll try to find another solution. I went to a lot of trouble to add that extra stuff to the story and it would be a crying shame for those that want to see it to be unable to, in my opinion. So, logs at the end of the chapters. Image and video links will just say (Image) or whatever, if you want to see the link you can still see them on that person's twitter page (it's just the lists that are losing messages).

Chapter 2: Welcome to NERV Academy

_31 March 2015 – Tokyo-3 (aka Hokone), Japan_

Shinji stared up at the massive structure that was to be his home from that point onwards. He had received a letter from his father summoning him here, but he had originally torn it up in anger. Until that day, Gendo Ikari had shown no interest in his son at all. Now, suddenly after years of not talking to him at all, of him living with an uncle who had barely tolerated his presence, he was summoned. He had wanted to ignore it, but it was not to be. His uncle had heard about the summons and had unceremoniously kicked him out, glad to be rid of him as a burden. Now no choice remained but to come at his father's beckoning. Before him stood the culmination of Gendo Ikari's hard work for the past few years, NERV: The Evangelion Pilot Academy. "What's an Evangelion?" Shinji wondered aloud. No one was there to answer his question, however.

Summoning up his courage, he entered the facility. The young Ikari gave the receptionist before him a shy smile. "Ah… Ikari, reporting in." He coughed and nervously fished around in his pocket for the taped together invitation. "Ah, I have the invitation here somewhere."

"Ikari Shinji? Yes, I was expecting you. The other students have already arrived. Go down the hallway to your left, follow the red line. That leads to the reception hall." The woman stated, giving him a kind smile.

"Oh… ah, ok. What do I do with my things?" Shinji gestured to the bags he had brought with him. "Ah, and I should have the last of my things arriving later on. I was told they'd be delivered and, ah…" He scratched his head nervously.

"Just leave them there. They'll be taken to your quarters, same as the rest of your stuff." She stated, making a shooing motion with her hand.

Shinji sighed and followed the indicated red line. Soon he heard the sounds of conversation in the distance.

"Nah, they transferred her to the NERV ward yesterday. She's settlin' in alright. I think she's…" The boy speaking, an athlete by the look of him, abruptly stopped talking when Shinji entered the room. "New kid's finally here!" He called out to the rest of the room.

"Finally!" A vaguely familiar red-haired girl griped, casting a dark glare his way.

The young Ikari blushed as the people in the room looked him over. Most of them were young teenagers his age. He looked around and saw three boys, the athlete he had interrupted, a bespectacled boy wearing a faded and worn army jacket who was giving him an impish grin, and a silver-haired boy with warm cinnamon red eyes who smiled at him as if he was a long-lost friend.

Also in the room were five girls. The first was the red-haired girl who had obviously been impatiently awaiting his arrival. She was pretty, but had an air of aggression about her that made him feel apprehensive. He also couldn't shake the thought that he knew her somehow but he couldn't place where they had met. The next girl he noticed was busty and wore glasses and had a peculiar grin on her lips as if she were laughing at a private joke he had told her without being obvious about it. A freckled girl with pig tails and a shyly smiling girl with short brown hair were the next people he noticed. He almost missed the last girl, a frail looking girl with short blue hair and mysterious crimson eyes who sat silently on one of the chairs, her chin in her hand and a distant look on her face. "Ah… sorry I'm late." He offered with an apologetic smile.

A lovely woman with long purple hair walked up to the podium at the front of the room. "Good afternoon and welcome to NERV Academy. You're here because you have the potential to pilot the Evangelions, earth's greatest, and only, defense against an enemy that can wipe out humanity if we're unable to stop them. First, let me apologize to each of you. We understand you're only children and this is an awesome responsibility for anyone, let alone people your age. But the truth is, you can pilot the Evas, and we cannot. We have no choice but to place the hopes of our future into your hands. Forgive us." She bowed for a moment before straightening. "Before we get into the specifics of what you'll be doing here, I thought it would be a good idea for everyone to introduce themselves and tell everyone a bit about yourself. I'm Captain Katsuragi Misato. I enjoy dancing and moonlit strolls with gorgeous men…"

"Oh for heaven's sake, major." A blonde woman groaned out, slapping her hand to her face in exasperation. "They don't need to hear that sort of thing."

"Miss Katsuragi is a total babe!" Shinji heard the athletic boy whispering to the one with glasses. "She can take a moonlit stroll with me any day!"

Misato put her hand over her mouth to disguise what she was saying, but everyone could hear it anyway. "I'm just trying to loosen them up! And my promotion hasn't officially gone through yet, you can't call me major!" The other woman rolled her eyes and made a gesture for her to continue. "Anyway, I'm your military commander. I'm in charge of Eva operations and combat training. We'll get more into depth on that later, though. Ritsuko?"

The blonde woman glared sternly at the purple-haired beauty who was sticking her tongue out at the other woman playfully. "Ahem. I'm Doctor Akagi. I'm in charge of the super computers here, and also your primary physician. If you're ill, come see me, please." She turned to look at the last faculty member there, a pretty young woman with short dark hair.

"Hello, I'm Lt. Ibuki Maya. I'll be in charge of teaching you math and computer skills. I hope we can also be friends!" Maya smiled and bowed. She glanced over at Misato and was given a nonverbal cue to take it from there. "Ah, we'll be available to talk so you can get to know us better. For now, let's get to know you all. Let me introduce first the only one of you who is already a full-fledged pilot. Ayanami?"

The blue-haired girl stood up and spoke in soft, dispassionate voice. "First Child, designated pilot of Evangelion Unit 00, Ayanami Rei." With that she sat back down.

"Ayanami? Could you tell them a bit more about yourself than your name? You're the only pilot here, after all." Maya requested with a polite smile.

Rei stood back up. "I have been training for the past seven months while on standby alert status in case of Angel attack." She sat down again.

Lt. Ibuki sighed and turned her attention to the red-haired girl. "Why don't you tell them about yourself, Cadet Soryu. After all, you're the reason they're here."

The girl stood up and assumed a prideful stance. "Right, I'm Soryu Asuka Langley. I've been training for the past six months in Germany in a larger experiment to determine which training methods, if any, were the most successful at raising a pilot's synchronization ratio with the Evangelions. See, they thought that you were either badass from the start, like First over there…" Asuka indicated Rei with a jerk of her thumb, "Or that you wouldn't be able to pilot worth a crap. When I started training, I had a borderline test status, but now after training, I'm starting to get closer to her level. The training techniques I went through were shown to be the most effective, so that's what these guys will be using with us. I've already been doing this training, so don't be surprised or feel insignificant when I'm chosen as the designated pilot of Eva Unit 01, ok?" She gave the other cadets a proud smile and then pointed at Shinji. "You next, Late Boy."

Apprehension gripped the boy's stomach like an icy glove as he stood up, feeling flustered as all eyes fell on him. "Ah… I'm Ikari Shinji. There's not much to be said about me. I don't really even understand what I'm doing here." He sat down and scrunched down in his seat as if trying to disappear.

"Why don't you go next, Kirishima?" Misato requested, indicating the girl with short brown hair.

She stood up and blushed as the attention fell on her. "Ah… hello. I'm Kirishima Mana. Nice to meet you all!" She bowed deeply, holding it for longer than was necessary as she tried to settle her nerves. "I was the test pilot for an alternate defense weapon called the Trident but they figured out it wouldn't be effective against the enemy. So, I'm here now instead. Someone else?" She sat down without waiting for an argument.

The athletic boy stood up. "Yo, Suzahara Toji here. I'm here to kick ass and save the freakin' world." He stated quite simply. Though his words were boastful, there was a quiet and grim determination in his eyes. Looking past the bravado, one could see he was serious about the job at hand, but most wouldn't look beyond the surface. "If any of you need any pointers on butt-kicking, don't be afraid to ask. Now, how about you go next, beautiful?" He indicated the bespectacled girl with a jerk of his chin.

The girl was surprised and jumped up too fast and tripped as her foot caught the leg of the chair causing her glasses to flew off the edge of her nose. "Oh! Oh no… not again!" She moaned in despair. She dropped down to her hands and knees and started feeling around for her lost eyeglasses.

The girl with pig tails got up quickly and picked up the spectacles and quietly handed them to the girl. "Here." She murmured.

"Oh, thank you!" The girl put the eyewear back on and sighed in relief as the world came back into focus. "My name is Makinami Mari Illustrious. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm excited about the prospect of piloting! Um… thank you!" She sat back down and let out a sigh of relief at being done with her introduction.

The boy wearing glasses stood up next. "My name is Inigo Montoya." He pointed at Asuka. "You killed my father. Prepare to die." He grinned and looked around. The smile dropped when everyone stared back at him blankly. "Princess Bride? Anyone? Geez, watch a freakin' movie, people. Fine, fine. I'm Aida Kensuke. I'm with Makinami, I'm freaking stoked at the idea of piloting! Wowee, I can't wait." He sat down, mumbling something about how something was inconceivable.

The girl with pig tails stood up and offered forth a shy smile. "Hello everyone. I'm Horaki Hikari. I look forward to being good friends with you all." She bowed and sat back down.

The silver-haired boy stood up. "I suppose that only leaves me. Nagisa Kaoru. Feel free to call me Kaoru, I don't mind you using my personal name. I'm here because humanity is worthy of being preserved and I'd like to do my part in making sure that happens." He gave everyone an exceptionally warm and friendly smile and sat down, casually slipping his hands into his pockets and relaxing.

Misato nodded as all eyes shifted back to her in expectation. "Right. Now that you know who you'll be fighting with, it's time to find out what you're up against." She pressed a button on the podium and a 3d holographic display of Adam appeared before the astonished faces of the students. "Second Impact. You were told that a meteor struck the earth and that that was what wiped out the lives of two billion people and shifted the axis tilt of the earth. That was a cover story. The creature appearing before you now is what was responsible, the Seed of Life, Adam. Adam was stopped by an Evangelion piloted by Ikari Yui and Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin."

The students who hadn't known of this, namely all of them except Shinji and Asuka, gasped in astonishment and turned to look at said pilots. Asuka looked back at them with an air of grim pride while Shinji stared at the floor, lost in his own thoughts.

"Before he died, however, he released a number of Seeds. Our best guess is at least a dozen, and possibly up to two dozen Angels. We've studied the cells of Adam and we've made some guesses at the potential shape and destructive potential these Angels might have, but until they attack we can't be sure. What we do know is that humans and angels are not meant to co-exist on the same planet. They will attack in an attempt to wipe us out." Misato explained, a 3d image of Lilith appeared now. "This is our progenitor, and the reason we found all this out before Adam woke up. Lilith was found here, in the very GeoFront you're in now, inside a massive vessel that we've called the Black Moon. We'll go more into detail on this in classes, but the reason I'm telling you this now is that if the Angels reach Lilith, they'll start a process we're calling Third Impact where all life on Earth will be forced back into the Egg of Lilith. Then they'll inherit the Earth and we'll no longer exist. These are the creatures coming to kill us and you're the ones who'll stop them."

Hikari jumped up to her feet. "Can I be excused for a moment?" She asked as she ran for the door and headed straight for the bathroom.

Misato sighed and nodded. "I understand it's a big shock, take a few moments to let it sink in."

Kensuke raised his hand. "Ah, how do we know these Angel guys are coming back? And do we know when?"

"We know they're coming back because they never left to begin with." Ritsuko explained after Misato looked at her. "They were born as Seeds, which may be thought of like plant seeds, or eggs lain by animals. We're reasonably certain that most of these Seeds are on the ocean floor, and possibly by now some are deep in the crust. A few might possibly be in space. We don't know how long they'll take to hatch, but to survive and to propagate they will have to destroy us first. As long as we're here, it's like the earth is salted to them. The environment is unsuitable. They need us gone and Adam reactivated to flourish. Does that answer your question, Cadet Aida?"

Kensuke's eyes widened as he was put back on the spot. "Yes ma'am!" He sat back down and blushed.

Major Katsuragi waited until Hikari came back before she continued. "Adam and Lilith are the only beings capable of the Anti-AT field that ended the lives at Second Impact, but we're sure the Angels themselves will be powerful in their own right. To combat them, we needed something on scale with them that could project an AT field. We'll get more into depth on what exactly that is in classes, but for now think of it as what separates you from everything around you. The Evangelions are uniquely capable of projecting that field on a massive scale and it is that which makes them capable of fighting the Angels on equal footing. Instead of showing you a hologram of Unit 00, which Ayanami pilots, I thought I'd take you down to the Eva cage and show it to you first hand. Follow me!" She gave them a friendly smile and started walking.

The students followed the (soon to be) major, excited murmurs exchanged between them. Finally arriving at the Eva cage in the depths of the Academy, the doors opened and the lights came on, revealing a massive blue cyclopean armor plated behemoth. Gasps of awe and fright filled the large chamber. "Ayanami pilots _that_ thing?" Shinji asked in awe, turning his gaze to the frail-looking pilot. Another realization hit him then. This was the thing his mother died in. His gaze dropped to the floor, his eyes angry and resentful.

"This was what defeated Adam, right?" Kensuke inquired, pulling a video camera out of seemingly nowhere to capture the massive cyborg on film. After receiving a confirmation, he asked another question. "You said two pilots were in it last time. Is Ayanami going to be assigned a co-pilot?"

"No, the Evas were redesigned to only require one pilot. The task of two pilots synchronizing their souls with one another proved to be too… unstable. Our testing has shown that the results from one pilot and a digital soul in the Eva are more consistent and reliable." Ritsuko explained.

"Unit 01 will be ready for piloting soon. At that time, we'll select one of you to be its designated pilot. The choice will be based on a number of factors, so do your best, ok?" Misato stated with a bright smile on her lips.

"What happens if Angels start attacking before Unit 01 is ready? Or any of the Evas after that for that matter?" Toji inquired, crossing his arms and scowling up at Unit 00.

"Then we pray that Ayanami and Unit 00 are able to handle them on her own, or we all die." Misato replied grimly.

All eyes went to the First Child then, but she simply stared ahead impassively. If she was fazed by the responsibilities on her delicate shoulders, she gave no indication of it. Kaoru tilted his head curiously as he looked at one section of the Eva cage. "That area looks different than the rest. Newer maybe?"

Misato nodded. "Good eye, Cadet Nagisa. That is the reason we're going to train you so hard to remain as calm and centered as possible. Pilot Ayanami lost control of Unit 00 during the reactivation experiment. It rampaged and nearly killed us all, Ayanami included. That wasn't totally her fault, mind you. There have been some improvements in the process of digital soul integration since then. But it is what it is, and it's why you should work hard at doing your best. If you lose control, it's more that your life at risk. Always remember that."

Shinji looked at the delicate Eva pilot in awed apprehension. He hadn't noticed it before now but she had some scars visible on her alabaster skin and he felt sure at least most of them had come from injuries from the activation experiment. He moved a bit closer and asked her in a soft voice so he didn't draw attention to them, "Aren't you scared to pilot that thing now?"

Rei turned her crimson eyes upon him. "No." She replied simply.

The young Ikari was shocked by that answer. "How can you not be? It nearly killed you!"

The blue-haired girl turned her gaze up to the immobile Unit 00. "Being afraid of her was why I was hurt to begin with. We had to learn to trust one another. She didn't know any better." She replied mysteriously.

Shinji turned his gaze up to the giant cyborg and a shiver ran up his spine as he contemplated that. The beast had a mind of its own and it hadn't known any better than to rampage. _'Will mine do the same when I pilot?"_ He wondered.

"I think that's enough for today. Explore to get accustomed to your surroundings and use the rest of the day to unpack your things in your room and settle in. The school orientation is tomorrow. Lt. Ibuki, the ah… electronic thingies?" Misato smiled at the pretty young lieutenant.

Maya giggled at her commanding officer's description as she pulled out the devices and handed them out. "These are your Mobile Information and Blogging Interfaces. I call them MIBIs for short." She grinned and looked around to mostly blank stares. "Ah… one function of them is to pull up information. They're wireless high speed internet devices so you can use it as a mobile computer if needed, and it'll also display your location in a neat 3d map. If you have trouble finding something, just input where you want to go and it'll give you the most direct route, or you can ask for alternate routes." She paused to she made sure they all saw how to use that function before continuing. "You'll also use this for communication and blogging. You can let us know what's going on, even if it's just 'Hey I'm really hungry, can I grab a snack?', or if it's 'Ouch I hurt myself and I need help!' And if you just want to comment on things it's handy for that. I know how important self-expression is. So… any questions, feel free to ask us! We'll get more into the nitty-gritty details tomorrow so you all have a chance to settle in. Oh and please make at least one posting before you go to bed so I know all the accounts are configured correctly, ok? Thanks!"

The students wandered out then, some of them already tapping away furiously on the handheld devices, others focused on looking around to acquaint themselves with the complex. "Hey! Ikari!" The boy heard, making his head snap up and notice Asuka smirking at him from where she was leaning back casually against the bulkhead behind her. "You remember me, don't you? I saw it in your eyes when you saw me."

Shinji shrugged. "Sort of. I thought you looked familiar but I couldn't remember how I knew you."

"I see." The red-haired girl shrugged and fell into step when him as he looked around. "I barely remembered you too. Our parents were pretty tight when we were rugrats, that's all I know. Had things been different…" She trailed off, allowing a wistful expression to cross her features for a brief moment, before continuing. "Well we might have grown up friends." She smirked at the confused yet hopeful look on the boys face at the mention of them possibly being friends. "Then again, you never know. We might have hated each other's guts."

Shinji stared down at the floor, crestfallen. "Yeah… maybe."

Asuka snorted and pushed the boy into a steel wall. "Maybe it's for the best we have a fresh start then. As long as you're ok with me kicking your butt in Eva training, I think we'll get along just fine." She smirked, letting the challenge hang in the air.

Shinji couldn't help but take her up on it. "Well, that's too bad because I'm going to be the next pilot chosen. You're just going to have to watch out for me, Soryu."

The German girl shook her head. "Maybe, but we'd both best watch out for Makinami. She's got the eye of the tiger, if you know what I mean. We've got a lot of hopes on us, more than the others. Our mothers are goddamned heroes and we'll always have to live up to that. Bring your A-game, Ikari. You're going to need it." She gave him a haughty smile and turned on her heel, leaving him without even a farewell.

Shinji sighed, feeling the oppressive weight of the responsibilities he was shouldering on his conscience now more than ever. "Maybe I'm not special… maybe Father doesn't care whether I'm here or not… and maybe I'm crazy for staying… but piloting Eva is the only thing I have left it. I guess I might as well try to be the best. It's probably what mom would have wanted." He shook his head, dispelling the thought of her as quickly as he could. He'd only end up wallowing if he thought of her so he tried not to.

It was later when he was about to take the elevator back up to the dorm level that he saw his father for the first time. The elevator doors opened up and standing in front of him, staring at him grimly and silently, stood Headmaster Gendo Ikari. Shinji's mouth dropped open a bit in surprise at being suddenly confronted by the man who always made him feel small. They stared into each other's eyes silently for a few moments and then Shinji averted his eyes to the side, a scowl affixing itself onto his face. A few tense moments later, the elevator doors closed again and he was alone once more.

Later on he was lying in his bed after finishing unpacking. He stared up at the ceiling, feeling uncomfortable with the way it looked. He could hear the occasional bling sound as the other students made messages and he knew he was supposed to make one before the night was over. He sighed and picked it up and stared at it for a while before typing a simple message. "Unfamiliar ceiling." He set the MIBI down and rolled over onto his side, inserting the ear bugs of his SDAT player into his ears and turned on his music, letting his worries wash away as he focused on the ideal world in his mind.

--

NERV log for 31st March 2015

NERVAidaK: Did you see the size of Unit 00!? OMG! Ayanami is so lucky!

NERVIbukiM: Such beautiful computers... this is going to be a fantastic job

NERVAyanamiR: What is the purpose of this "blog"?

NERVHorakiH: How does this work?

NERVHorakiH: Oh...

NERVKirishimaM: Dibs on the tv remote in the rec room! I called it first!

NERVMakinamiM: If Unit 01 gets assigned to me, I'll have them paint it green. Calling it now!

NERVNagisaK: "Joy is not in things; it is in us" - Richard Wagner

NERVAcademy: Breakfast tomorrow at 0700-0800. Orientation 0830. Please decide who you wish to serve as class rep by end of orientation. Welcome to NERV

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVMakinamiM Dream on Makinami, Unit 01 will be mine and it will be RED!

NERVSuzaharaT: Did anyone else see that total babe that's going to be teaching us Eva Ops?! Hubba hubba! I'd salute her any time if ya know what I mean

NERVKatsuragiM: Nothing beats a nice cold beer before bedtime!

NERVIkariS: Unfamiliar ceiling

NERVIbukiM: It looks like all student accounts are set up and tested. See you all in the morning!

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVSoryuA Let's both try our best then. Loser buys the winner ice cream?

NERVAidaK: We're going to swear in as UN military tomorrow guys! Ayanami already has been, she's a Pilot Officer, the rest of us are Officer Cadets!

NERVAidaK: OMG OMG Dream come true! Next dream, being assigned as a designated pilot! OMG!

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVAidaK You'll be the designated pilot of Eva Unit 08. My guess, you'll paint it tan.

NERVAidaK: (at)NERVSoryuA Unit 08?! There are only 8 of us not assigned an Eva unit right now though... Hmm tan isn't a bad color though...

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVAidaK You catch on quick, four-eyes.

NERVSoryuA: My predictions: Unit 01-Me/Red Unit 02-Makinami/Green, Unit 03-Kirishima/Yellow, Unit 04-Ikari/Violet, Unit 05-Nagisa/Silver,

NERVSoryuA: con't: Unit 06-Suzahara-Black Unit 07-Horaki-Pink or gold, and as I said Unit 08-Aida/Tan.

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVSoryuA We haven't even done any testing yet and you've already decided the order we'll be placed AND the colors we'll pick?!

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVMakinamiM Yes, based on my keen observation skills and deductive reasoning.

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVSoryuA Hmm. Well, good on you then, mate. I'm going to bed. We'll see how your predictions pan out.

--

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3: Settling In

**NERV: Evangelion Pilot Academy**

Author's Note: Reference chapter 1 for student&faculty list. As a reminder, as a bonus to this story, also check the twitter account for NERVAcademy. Student and teacher twitter accounts are listed there. You can follow a list or individuals, as your preference, or ignore it completely. It's just bonus characterization outside of the constraints of the story or whatever.

Chapter 3: Settling In

_14 February, 2005 – Hokone, Japan_

Dr. Akagi Naoko frowned up at Evangelion Unit 00 as she tapped a pen against a clipboard, deep in thought. "So that confirms it then: the AT field collapsed because the link between two humans, even two as close as Ikari and Soryu were, wasn't stable enough. That leaves me with having to figure out how to utilize Soryu's Soul-Copies, while working on the MAGI system. Well, no one said the job would be easy." She snorted and glanced over at her lab assistant as she spoke.

"The results from the upper extremity peripheral nerve interface are inconsistent." Dr. Ayanami Akane stated.

Naoko sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes, I noticed that Ayanami. Can we focus a bit more on the big picture for now, please?" The assistant gave her an apologetic smile and turned back to her work. _'Gods above I hate that simpering fool. I hate her moronic smile. I hate her ugly red eyes. And I hate that snotty little brat of hers that she keeps bringing around here like it's a goddamned daycare center.'_ The scientist thought scathingly, glowering at the woman's back. Dr. Ayanami glanced back at her with a smile on her lips, so Naoko quickly replaced her scowl with a faux kind smile. The scowl returned when the other woman turned back to her work. _'I don't know what Dr. Ikari saw in that fool. She's utterly incapable of seeing the big picture. Useless simpleton.'_

"Do you have a conclusion yet, doctor?" A deep voice said behind her, startling her. She turned around and saw the stoic glare of Gendo Ikari.

"Yes, the AT field instability was definitely caused by two human pilots. The results say they were at a rather remarkable synchronization ratio despite the psychological impact that Adam's Anti-AT field had, but it wasn't enough. Just the fact that they were moving as two instead of as one was enough to cause dissonance." Dr. Akagi informed the man. _'My goodness, he's handsome. I'll bet he's a fantastic lover. I saw the records of Yui, she always had a smile on her lips…'_ Naoko let her eyes drift down, not bothering to hide her appraisal of the man's physique.

"Can you figure out a way to implant Soryu's digital souls into the Evangelions, then?" Gendo inquired. If he noticed or cared about the woman's unabashed eye-roaming, he gave no indication of it.

Naoko nodded. "I think so. It'll take some time and some testing, but I can do it. And it likely won't put me any more than a little behind schedule on the MAGI project, given proper incentive." A smirk and another eye roam let her meaning be clear.

Gendo stared impassively at the woman for several long moments before he spoke up. "I'm sure we can come to some kind of arrangement, then." The man stated.

Later that day, Professor Fuyutsuki approached Commander Ikari. "They've finally declared an end to the fighting. The Valentine Treaty they're calling it." He shook his head, letting a trace of amusement touch his lips. "This just gives us complications of a different nature. We'll have closer oversight from the UN now."

"That's fine. We can handle them, just as we handle SEELE." Gendo stated confidently.

The professor let his gaze land on Dr. Akagi. "You seem to have quite a bit handled, old friend."

"Getting my hands dirty is fine." Ikari stated. "I'll continue to do what needs to be done."

Kozo nodded, noticing the young Rei run by with a happy smile on her lips. "Where is Shinji? I would have thought you'd be bringing him here."

"He's at home being watched by his nanny. He's far too emotional right now. He'd only be in the way." Gendo stated dismissively.

Professor Fuyutsuki glanced at the man but made no comment. He wasn't surprised. The man had emotionally withdrawn since Yui's death. It was fair to say he was running away from his responsibilities as a father. Kozo couldn't really blame him though, he likely wouldn't have fared any better. He was in mourning as well.

"Would you get that snotty little brat out of here?!" Naoko screamed at Dr. Ayanami.

"Sorry, sorry!" Akane called, running over to scoop the little blue-haired girl up into her arms. "Let's get you back to day care, you little scamp." She continued a little softer, but likely not as softly as she intended, "And let's get you away from that mean old hag."

Naoko's eye twitched and the pencil she was holding snapped in twain. "Stupid cow." She growled. If looks could kill, the woman and the little girl she was carrying away who was openly laughing at her would have keeled over on the spot.

--

_01 April, 2015 – Tokyo-3, Japan_

Shinji stared at his reflection for a few moments, processing the image of himself in a UN military uniform. It was a bit surreal, so he shook his head and walked away, deciding not to think about the situation too much. He glanced at his MIBI and saw that Asuka was on the rampage. Someone had apparently eaten sausage balls that she had brought in with her. "Wasn't me, that's all I know." The blue-eyed boy remarked to himself.

"Oy!" A loud voice called out behind him, making the boy jump a bit as he was startled. "How'd you sleep?" Makinami Mari Illustrious grinned mischievously as the boy's eyes were unwittingly drawn to her bouncing bust. "Fair's fair, mate." She remarked, unabashedly letting her eyes roam over the boy.

Shinji felt himself turn beet red and he looked away. "Ah… good morning Makinami. I slept as well as could be expected, I suppose. It'll probably take a few days to get use to this place. How… ah… how about you?"

Mari shrugged. "Slept ok. Kept hearing Soryu muttering in her room, think she was talking to herself or something. And Ayanami must have gotten up and walked out of her room half a dozen times. Didn't hear a peep from Kirishima or Horaki though. Guess we all have our jitters."

The young Ikari's gaze dropped to the floor. He had no idea what to say now. "Ah… I suppose." He still felt a little put off by the girl's boldness.

"So what's the headmaster like?" Mari inquired curiously.

Shinji shrugged. "I don't know."

The part-British girl quirked an eyebrow up, surprised by that response. "Isn't he your father?" After receiving a nod in response, she nodded in understanding. "Ah, so it's like that. I know how it is, my dad sent me to boarding school and I barely even saw him on holidays." They walked in silence for a while before she inquired, "Do you remember your mum at all?"

Shinji frowned, uncomfortable with the current topic. "Ah… not really. I just remember… feeling good in her presence." He glanced away in case a tear came to his eye.

"Saw mine once. I didn't find out till after she left that she was my mum. She didn't even say hi to me." Mari remarked, lost in her own thoughts for a moment. They were both so distracted that Shinji barely noticed they had arrived at the reception hall so he stopped abruptly and that made Makinami walk into him and loose her balance. "Whoops!" She called out.

Shinji caught her on instinct and stared into her eyes as her glasses balanced precariously on the edge of her nose. "Ah…" He wanted to ask if she was ok but his mind had gone blank.

"Have yourself a good feel, mate." Mari stated, giving the boy a flirtatious wink.

The blue-eyed boy blinked and then looked down to see he had a handful of a firm yet squishy breast. "Oh!" He let go and the girl almost fell again. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean… ah…"

"Oy, they're waiting on us, mate." Makinami said with a smirk on her lips. She did a little twirl and winked, pointing her finger at him and making a strange gesture with her thumb coming down, at the same time making a clucking sound with her tongue.

Shinji stared at her back for a few moments, unable to comprehend the girl's reaction. He had expected a slap or at least an admonishment, but she had seemed more amused than anything else. He was infinitely grateful that none of the other cadets had noticed the exchange, but Misato gave him a wink and a thumbs up sign, making him blush and stare at his feet.

They were sworn in to the UN military then, a visiting general performing the ceremony. Shinji's eyes strayed around during the event, dropping eventually on Ayanami Rei. She was already wearing the uniform and rank of a UN officer, her pilot rank insignia on her collar. He stared until she glanced over at him and that made him blush and look down at the floor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her look at him silently for a few moments and then turn her gaze away. He let out a sigh, hoping she hadn't been offended by his staring. He wasn't even sure why he had been doing it. His life was getting pretty complicated.

"You seem distracted. Is everything alright?" Nagisa Kaoru inquired politely as they left the reception hall and started heading towards the cafeteria for lunch.

Shinji blinked as he realized he was being spoken to. "Oh! Yes, I'm fine. I guess I'm still trying to process everything. Ah… how about you, Nagisa?"

"Oh, I'm doing well. But please, call me Kaoru." Kaoru requested with a kind smile on his lips.

Shinji frowned slightly in thought. It seemed too soon to him to use personal names and he knew if he accepted and called the other boy by his personal name, he'd receive the same treatment in return. That led him to wonder if others would start to follow suit, even without his permission. "Ah…"

"It's ok, Ikari. I won't be offended if you continue to use my surname. I didn't intend to put you on the spot like that." Kaoru gave him a perfectly angelic smile, full of kindness and understanding. It made him feel guilty for being unwilling to become informal.

"Suzahara!" A shrill voice cried out suddenly, making everyone freeze in place. The distinctive sound of two bodies colliding filled the air a moment later as Asuka kicked Toji in the face. "Violate my possessions again and you'll get worse than that!" She let out an indignant harrumph and walked away.

"Oh man… that hurt, but it was so worth it! Those sausage balls were delicious!" Toji moaned, rubbing his sore cheek. The goofy smile on his face made it obvious he was either delirious or hadn't been hurt too badly.

"I'll be in the music room practicing. You're welcome to join me if you like, Ikari." Kaoru offered.

"Ah… no thanks. I'm a bit hungry so I'm going to the lunch. Maybe another time." Shinji smiled politely and offered his hand to Toji so he could pick himself up off the floor.

"All right then, have a good meal gentlemen." The silver-haired boy smiled and walked away, happily humming a tune to himself.

Shinji shook his head in wonder at the jock. "Don't take this the wrong way, but is it your intention to be a jerk?"

"Hell yeah, man." Toji affirmed with a grin. "It's like this… you act like a jerk. You put out all your bravado and flirt like there's no tomorrow. The girl that protests the most is the one that's the most into you. Once you figure that out, the rest is simple."

The blue-eyed boy gave the athlete a skeptical look. "So you're really going out of your way to get the girls mad at you?"

"Yep! Within a week, the girl who's the most into me will be apparent. You mark my words." Toji gave the young Ikari a wise look.

Shinji laughed dryly and shook his head in disbelief. "It's your funeral, Suzahara."

Toji smirked and looked around at the ladies present in the cafeteria. "I'm already in heaven, bro. Look at this place! So many gorgeous young ladies. Even our lady teachers are hot! Only a fool would pass up the chance to get with one of these beauties."

"Get with?" Shinji asked, baffled by the term.

"Date, man. Enter into a mutually affectionate relationship with some degree of exclusiveness. Haven't you ever had a girlfriend before?" Toji inquired, dropping enough food on his tray to feed three people.

The young Ikari shook his head and answered honestly. "No."

Suzahara glanced at the other boy sideways, attempting to determine the reasoning behind such an occurance. "Don't take this the wrong way, but are you ah… maybe into guys instead? I mean I'm just askin' cuz ya never know. No big deal if you are, just sayin'."

Shinji frowned in thought. "I've never given it much thought before."

Toji noticed that the boy was looking at Rei, and not doing a very good job of being inconspicuous about it. "You like her? Why don't you go talk to her, man."

Shinji looked at the boy beside him and realized he had been caught staring again. "Ah… it's not like that. I'm just trying to figure her out."

"Yeah, she is kinda mysterious." Toji affirmed.

"Yeah." Shinji agreed.

"A little spooky too." The jock admitted.

"Yeah." The blue-eyed boy agreed again.

"But totally freaking hot." Toji stated.

"Uh huh." Shinji agreed absent-mindedly. He blushed at the admission, letting his eyes roam over to Asuka and Mari, but they were too far away to hear him. He was fairly sure that Asuka saw him as little more than competition and a friendly rival, but he couldn't figure out Mari's thoughts. She seemed bold and self-assured, but at the same time aloof and mischievous.

"Hey man… I was going to hold back from flirting with Ayanami because it looked like you were into her, but I'm not letting you have _all_ the ladies to yourself!" Suzahara protested when he noticed the other boy's gaze stray.

The young Ikari blushed and stared at his food, realizing he had been caught staring yet again. It was becoming a bad habit. "You can flirt with whomever you want."

Toji gave him a skeptical look. "You sure, man? If you have a favorite, speak now or forever hold your peace, or whatever."

Shinji vainly wished he could disappear. "Thanks for the offer but I'm fine." He looked up and saw some of the girls looking their way but their expressions were unreadable. They could have been contemplating how his head would look on a pike for all he knew. "What about you? Any… ah… favorites?"

"Oh, Major Katsuragi, hands down. But yeah, like that would happen. Nah, I'm keeping my options open. Like I said, once the girl who protests the most makes herself known…" Toji nodded, leaving the rest to the imagination.

The young Ikari wished he had half as much confidence as the other boy had. "Just try not to get killed by Soryu before that happens." He stated half-jokingly.

Toji shook his head. "Nah man, it won't be her. Her reaction was quick, merciless, and without lingering emotion. She's already forgotten about it. If she had a thing for me, she'd be fuming. Too bad too… you know what they say about redheads."

He had stated it like it was common knowledge but Shinji had no idea what he was talking about so he let the matter drop. He wondered why the other boy seemed so eager to pair up. Loneliness? It was something he himself had long since grown accustomed to, but he supposed that didn't mean others felt the same. Even helping Toji up and eating lunch with him hadn't been because he wanted the company. It was just because the boy had fallen in front of him and it was polite to help him up. Once that was accomplished, he had just followed along passively. At dinner time he would almost surely be sitting alone again.

He was correct in his assumption, of course. Dinner time came and he was alone. He was too distracted to notice if anyone had looked at him and no one had tried to talk to him. It was likely they sensed his distant thoughts and left him alone. After he finished his meal he walked out and saw his father in the distance talking to Major Katsuragi. From the looks up it she was finishing up with a report. She held up a booklet, likely her written report, but the man shook his head. "I'll send it to Professor Fuyutsuki then." The major stated.

Headmaster Ikari nodded at her. "Dismissed, major." He started to turn towards the elevator when Shinji's voice stopped him.

"Father!" The boy paled a bit when the man turned a glare his way. "Why… why did you bring me here?"

"It has already been explained to you." Gendo stated coldly.

"There's no other reason?" Shinji inquired, daring to hope a little.

The elder Ikari stared at him silently for a few moments before responding. "What other reason would there be?"

The boy's hopes vanished. He really was just another pilot candidate. There was nothing special about him at all. "So that's it then. What if I don't do it? What if I just leave? What will you do then?" He demanded angrily, feeling rebellious now that his vain hope of reconnecting with his father was crushed.

"Then you'll be brought up on charges for desertion." The commander stated flatly.

Shinji looked away, clenching his fists. All the anger and rebelliousness in his body was crying out for him to tell his father to court martial him then. He even wanted to take a swing at the bastard. But luckily for him, he wasn't ruled by his anger. Self-preservation won out this time. "At least I know where I stand now." He spat out bitterly as he turned away.

"Shinji." Gendo spoke up, making the boy pause in his retreat. "Your mother would have wanted you to try your best. You owe her that much." Though the boy wasn't sure, he thought the man had added softly, "We all do." But he had already turned and walked away.

Shinji sighed and stared out the window for a few minutes and then pulled out his MIBI. "The only reason I was brought here was to pilot Eva. I suppose I will. What good am I otherwise?" He typed out.

A few minutes later a response from Asuka popped up, telling him it was a privilege to pilot and they would save the world. A moment later she added another message taunting him, saying that after she was selected as the next pilot, she and Ayanami would finish off all the other angels before the pilot choices even got to him. She was sure he would be the fourth pilot chosen, after herself, Makinami, and Nagisa. She even had claimed deductive reasoning and observation were backing her assessment. The taunting did the trick and his competitive nature took over. He let the girl know he would do his best and she'd better watch out for him. He felt better about himself after that. He knew without a doubt now that if he was chosen as a pilot, it wouldn't be because he was the headmaster's son. It would be because he competed with the best and earned his spot. Asuka had seven months of training on him though, so he knew it wouldn't be easy.

Later on that night he was lying on his bed and listening to music when his MIBI vibrated, which he now knew meant he had received a message aimed at him. He picked it up and saw it was Nagisa inquiring about some fruit juice he had in the commons refrigerator. He was baffled by that, but realized why the boy was inquiring about it when he asked permission to have a glass and even offered to share it with him. He responded saying he didn't mind the other boy having a glass as long as he didn't drink all the juice.

He was about to go back to his music when Asuka sent a video link to him and Kaoru. He scratched his head and clicked it, an Elton John about love. Shinji was thoroughly baffled by this so he messaged back inquiring if she was confessing a crush on him. He assumed that wasn't it since she had tagged Nagisa in the message as well but he figured it was still possible. Rather than responding with a yes or a no, she called him a stupid jerk. The young Ikari scratched his head in confusion.

A few moments later, Toji chimed in, claiming Soryu had a thing for him. Now she was angry at him and threatened to kick his face again. Rather than letting the matter rest, he made a remark about how he wouldn't have eaten the sausage balls if he had known it would cause 'marital discord' between Shinji and Asuka. "Oh god… don't drag me into your squabble!" The young Ikari moaned aloud as he typed that in for a response. This couldn't end well. The spirit of righteous anger had flared up in Asuka and now Toji's teeth were going to pay the price.

Lt. Ibuki suddenly chimed in with a message saying the assigning of guardians would have to be hastened, so the edict was handed out. Get a faculty member to agree to be your guardian and it had to be a one on one basis of the same gender. "I don't understand… isn't Father still my guardian?" He wondered aloud. Surprisingly, Ayanami was the first to choose a guardian, asking Lt. Ibuki. That led to Asuka pointing out that there were only two female teachers, but she was informed that any permanent faculty member would do, not just teachers, so that opened up more responsibilities. Asuka latched onto Major Katsuragi immediately which made Shinji wonder why she had bothered to ask about faculty members if she was going to choose the only remaining female teacher anyway.

Lt. Ibuki stated that Headmaster Ikari and Professor Fuyutsuki weren't options. Shinji knew what that meant, he had to pick a guardian as well. From his limited experiences thus far, Mr. Kaji had seemed pretty nice so he went to him first, but Toji had beaten him to it. Two students mentioning him getting onto the MIBI system was enough to convince him of that at least. But that still left him without a guardian. "I guess I'll sleep on it. Everyone has gone to bed by now anyway." Shinji muttered and headed for bed.

--

NERV log for 1st April 2015

NERVSoryuA: Who ate my sausage balls?! My auntie made those for me you jerks! Grr

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVSoryuA I ate them. They were delicious! Got any more?

NERVKatsuragiM: Monday: Eva Operations Tuesday: Sync testing Wednesday: Weapons training Thursday: Combat training Friday: Harmonics testing Sat: Missions

NERVHorakiH: (at)NERVSoryuA I can make you some more. Do you have the recipe your aunt used? Or should I just look one up?

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVSuzaharaT I should have known it was you, jockstrap for brains. Watch your back, my foot might accidentally hit your face.

NERVNagisaK: (at)NERVAcademy Is the music room free to use if class isn't in session?

NERVAyanamiR: No problems to report.

NERVIbukiM: Hosting Team Fortress 2 tonight for network play. Tomorrow I'm thinking Left for Dead 2. Open for suggestions after that

NERVAcademy: All facilities are free to use as long as class is not in session. Please be respectful and clean up after yourselves.

NERVAidaK: (at)NERVIbukiM Sounds awesome Lt. Ibuki! I was thinking, would it also be possible to link the games to the sim-evas?

NERVKirishimaM: (at)NERVAyanamiR So what's it like to pilot Eva? I test-piloted the Trident so I'm curious about the differences. Your opinion on it?

NERVMakinamiM: If you drink the last of the coffee, make some more! It's not brain surgery, people! And yes, leaving 3 drops counts as finishing it!

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVAidaK Use multi-billion dollar machines to play video games? Hmm... I'll put some thought into it.

NERVNagisaK: A song about unrequited love (video link)

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVKirishimaM It is my bond. It is what I am here for.

NERVKirishimaM: (at)NERVAyanamiR Ooook

NERVIkariS: The only reason I was brought here was to pilot Eva. I suppose I will. What good am I otherwise?

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVIkariS Don't be an idiot. Piloting Eva is a privilege. The hopes and dreams of the world are on us

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVIkariS Anyway (at)NERVAyanamiR and I will probably finish off all the angels before they even get around to assigning you to an Eva

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVSoryuA What makes you so sure you'll be selected first? If piloting Eva is all I have, I intend to do my best at least.

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVIkariS Hmph. Everyone knows girls make better pilots. As I said yesterday, you'll probably get Unit 04 Better than (at)NERVAidaK will do

NERVIkariS: We'll just have to see about that (at)NERVSoryuA I won't roll over for you

NERVAidaK: (at)NERVSoryuA What did I ever do to you? I didn't eat your sausage balls, that was (at)NERVSuzaharaT !

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVAidaK It's not personal four-eyes. It's a completely unbiased conjecture based on observation and deductive reasoning.

NERVNagisaK: (at)NERVIkariS Ikari is that your cherry white grape juice in the refrigerator in the commons?

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVNagisaK Yes. Is it in the way? Or...

NERVNagisaK: (at)NERVIkariS No, I was just wondering if I might have a glass, please. Or perhaps you'd care to share one with me?

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVNagisaK Oh... ah... no it's fine if you have a glass. Just please don't drink it all

NERVNagisaK: (at)NERVIkariS Thank you Ikari, that is very kind. :-)

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVNagisaK (at)NERVIkariS (video link to "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from the Lion King soundrack)

NERVNagisaK: (at)NERVSoryuA Thank you for the link Soryu, that's a lovely song :-)

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVSoryuA It's nice I guess. Why are you sharing that song with me though? Are you confessing a crush to me?

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVIkariS You stupid jerk

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVIkariS I think you have a shot, Ikari. I think (at)NERVSoryuA totally digs you man

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVSuzaharaT Shut up jock-strap for brains! You want to relive the humiliation of me kicking your face in?!

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVSoryuA If I had known eating those sausage balls would cause marital discord between you and (at)NERVIkariS I would have thought twice

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVSuzaharaT ....Could you leave me out of it?

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVSuzaharaT You're going to have a matching dent in your face when I get through with you Suzahara! I hope you're not fond of your teeth

NERVIbukiM: I think we might have to move up the assigning of matrons... and um... boy-matrons, whatever they're called.

NERVAcademy: Students meet with faculty and decide mutually decide your guardian by the end of Friday.

NERVIbukiM: Sorry boys but you can't pick me as your matron, same gender only (^_^)

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVKatsuragiM !!! I call it first!

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVIbukiM Aw killjoy

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVSuzaharaT That's not very nice.

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVIbukiM Sorry Lt. Ibuki. I wasn't trying to be mean

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVIbukiM You and (at)NERVKatsuragiM are the only faculty on here so far? Are any of the male teachers getting set up soon?

NERVAidaK: Wow only 80ms latency with online network play! (at)NERVIbukiM I'm in love!

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVIkariS Working on it, they haven't come to see me yet about it Maybe you should mention your interest in their messages, Cadet Ikari

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVAidaK *blush* At least someone around here appreciates me. Enjoy but don't stay up too late. Health comes first!

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVIbukiM It's not like that. This is supposed to make communication easier, right? We can't communicate if they're not on here

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVIkariS As I said, bug them about it. They're "too busy" for me

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVIbukiM Must we all have matrons, or just the cadets?

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVAyanamiR All students, including pilots, Pilot Ayanami

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVIbukiM I see. Would you consent to being my matron then, Lt. Ibuki?

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVAyanamiR Of course, I would be honored!

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVIbukiM Can more than one student pick a faculty member? There are five female pilot/cadets and only three female teachers

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVIbukiM And that's including Dr. Akagi

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVSoryuA You bring up a fair point. I'll discuss it with HM Ikari and Prof. Fuyutsuki. There are faculty that aren't teachers however.

NERVSoryuA: I see. In that case, (at)NERVKatsuragiM would you be my matron?

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVSoryuA Sure Cadet Soryu. I think we got along well enough in Germany so it should be fine. This won't send darnit

NERVKatsuragiM: oh. (at)NERVIbukiM When you get the chance tomorrow can you show me how to use this thing again? I can't figu

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVKatsuragiM Of course Major. Come see me when you have some free time and I'd be glad to show you anything you want (^_^)

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVIbukiM I'm still a captain until the promotion paperwork goes through. And what's (^_^)?

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVKatsuragiM It's a smile...

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVIbukiM Uh huh... ok. I'm signing out for the night then. I'll come see you tomorrow about this thing oo;l send damnit ;;;l

NERVKirishimaM: Is the banana pudding in the kitchen free-for-all?

NERVHorakiH: (at)NERVKirishimaM Yes, I made enough for everybody. Feel free to have some

NERVHorakiH: New rule: Until our dorm refrigerators arrive, anything on the counter or on the top shelf in fridge is free-for-all. Please label others

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVSoryuA No fair! I thought we were supposed to talk to them in person! The other female faculty aren't even on here yet!

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVMakinamiM You have to think ahead if you want to pilot Eva.

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVMakinamiM Besides, as Capt. Katsuragi said, we got along well in Deutschland. She would have picked me anyway

NERVKajiR: (at)NERVIbukiM All right all right, I'm using it. You can call off your minions, you evil little cutie pie.

NERVAkagiR: Done. If that will be all for tonight, I'm signing off

NERVIbukiM: Lt. Aoba and Hyuga both expressed no interest in signing up for the time being but might change their minds later.

NERVIbukiM: Headmaster Ikari and Prof. Fuyutsuki are far too busy, so unless some of the non-teaching faculty join, that's everyone for now

NERVIbukiM: And thus, it's time for sleep. Left for Dead 2 on network play tomorrow, let me have suggestions for the rest of the week!

--

NERV log for 2nd April 2015 (Takes place between chapters 3 and 4 so I'm putting it here)

NERVAyanamiR: No problems to report

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVAkagiR Would you consent to being my matron, Dr. Akagi?

NERVHorakiH: There are sausage balls on the kitchen counter. There should be plenty for everyone to have their fill

NERVKajiR: Starting tomorrow morning, morning exercises and tai chi for one hour before breakfast. Probably including time for a quick shower

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVHorakiH It wasn't about the sausage balls, it was about the violation of my things. We can all have mutual respect I would hope

NERVHorakiH: (at)NERVSoryuA I know, but I can't do anything about that after the fact. You dealt with Suzahara. I know they're not the same but help yourself

NERVKirishimaM: (at)NERVSoryuA If you want some you'd better hurry. Suzahara is wolfing them down like he's on a mission from god.

NERVKirishimaM: I nearly lost a hand grabbing a sausage ball... yikes! Suzahara is a beast

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVKirishimaM Good, let him eat his fill. Let him gorge himself until he's stuffed. Then I'll kick him in the stomach.

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVSoryuA (at)NERVSuzaharaT (at)NERVKatsuragiM Is this something the guardians will have to get involved in? Who is Suzahara's anyway?

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVSoryuA (at)NERVSuzaharaT If a single punch is thrown I'll have both your asses in the brig. Show some decorum, cadets.

NERVKajiR: (at)NERVIbukiM That would be me, Don't be a pig. If you ask nicely enough, (at)NERVHorakiH might make more

NERVAkagiR: (at)NERVMakinamiM I'm rather busy...

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVAkagiR I'm low maintenance, I promise

NERVAkagiR: (at)NERVMakinamiM Very well then, don't make me regret it.

NERVIbukiM: All cadets please submit the name of your guardian/matron by the end of the day, over here, for records purposes. Yes, everyone.

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVIbukiM Lt. Ibuki is matron for Pilot Ayanami

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVIbukiM Major Katsuragi is my matron

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVIbukiM Dr. Akagi is my matron, ma'am

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVIbukiM Oh, me too? Mr. Kaji is my guardian

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVIbukiM Can you just assign someone to me? I suppose it doesn't really matter

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVIkariS No, Cadet Ikari, I will not simply assign someone to you. You were ordered to talk to and choose your guardian and you shall

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVIkariS And by the way, yes it does matter a great deal. Your guardian is responsible for your wellbeing and discipline

NERVAidaK: (at)NERVIbukiM Lt. Hyuga said he'll be my guardian

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVIbukiM I see. If that's what expected of me, then I'll figure something out.

NERVHorakiH: (at)NERVIbukiM Sgt. Oi agreed to be my matron. I can pick her right?

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVHorakiH Yes Sgt..Oi is fine. Any of the permanent faculty can serve as guardians

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVIbukiM Professor Yamamoto agreed to be my guardian

NERVIbukiM: I still need to hear from (at)NERVKirishimaM and (at)NERVNagisaK please

NERVNagisaK: My apologies, (at)NERVIbukiM . Lt. Aoba agreed to be my guardian. We were sidetracked in a philosophical discussion

NERVKirishimaM: (at)NERVIbukiM Corporal Agano is my matron

NERVIbukiM: Doublechecking then: Aida-Hyuga, Ayanami-Ibuki, Horaki-Oi, Ikari-Yamamoto, Kirishima-Agano, Makinami-Akagi, Nagisa-Aoba, Soryu-Katsuragi,

NERVIbukiM: and Suzahara-Kaji. If any of those are incorrect or change, please inform me ASAP.

NERVAcademy: (at)NERVIbukiM I will be taking guardianship of Ikari in lieu of Prof. Yamamoto

NERVIbukiM: Oh! Yes sir, Prof. Fuyutsuki! Correction noted

NERVKirishimaM: So are we going to be the only cadets? This is a big school for just nine students...

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVKirishimaM First term, yes you will be the only students here to focus on your core training. 2nd term younger cadets will join

NERVKirishimaM: (at)NERVIbukiM The younger cadets will train to pilot the Evas as well? Will we be competing with them for pilot assignment?

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVKirishimaM They'll receive more basic "preparatory" training. It will likely be 2-3 years before they're considered for piloting

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVKirishimaM By then, one or two of you might be on faculty as experienced piloting instructors

NERVKirishimaM: (at)NERVIbukiM So basically they'll be here for the superior education, and eventual piloting, or maybe our replacements?

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVKirishimaM Yes. You should focus on the present now, though. They're the future you're safeguarding for us. Focus on yourself for now

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVHorakiH Hey Class Rep, you cooking anything good tomorrow?

NERVHorakiH: (at)NERVSuzaharaT Maybe, I haven't decided yet

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVHorakiH I get pretty hungry so I'll be happy to eat anything you make. I gotta have a lot of energy for the day!

NERVHorakiH: (at)NERVSuzaharaT If you promise to stop hogging it all, I might cook something up again.

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVHorakiH Set aside a plate for me and you won't have to worry about the others fighting me over your delicious food Class Rep

NERVHorakiH: (at)NERVSuzaharaT *blush* If that will keep the peace, I'll do that from now on.

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVSuzaharaT (at)NERVHorakiH *retch* You'll say anything to fill your bottomless gut, jock-strap for brains. Disgusting.

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVSoryuA Aw I didn't mean to make you jealous Soryu. You can share your auntie's cooking with me any time you like

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVSuzaharaT You muscle-brained pig! Do I have to kick your face in again?!

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVSoryuA I'll only look the other way once when you smack him, so you'd best save it for when he really deserves it.

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVKatsuragiM Yes major. Hmm... may I have permission to leave school grounds to see a movie?

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVSoryuA Not tonight. You'll have a day pass on Saturday, wait until then

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVKatsuragiM I'm bored though

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVSoryuA You have your choice then: 1) Use the rec room, pool, courtyard, computer lab, commons, etc or 2) Come clean my quarters

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVKatsuragiM A nice relaxing swim sounds good...

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVAyanamiR Pilot Ayanami, why don't you join us in the computer lab? We're having fun playing LFD2 (^_^)

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVIbukiM I am reading right now Lt. Ibuki

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVAyanamiR That's what bookmarks are for Pilot Ayanami

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVIbukiM Are you ordering me to report to the computer lab, Lt. Ibuki?

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVAyanamiR I am requesting it. Next time, if necessary, I will order it.

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVIbukiM I shall resume reading then. Have a pleasant evening, Lt. Ibuki

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVAidaK (at)NERVIkariS (at)NERVNagisaK Hey guys, let's go swimming ;-)

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVAyanamiR I see. Enjoy your book then, Pilot Ayanami. I'm ordering you to have breakfast with me in the morning, then

NERVIkariS: I'm practicing on my cello right now (at)NERVSuzaharaT Maybe next time?

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVIbukiM Understood

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVIkariS The music room doesn't have Soryu in a bikini, you dunce. Practice your cello later!

NERVAidaK: (at)NERVSuzaharaT On the way! Let me grab a fresh video cassette!

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVSuzaharaT I suppose a little exercise couldn't hurt

NERVNagisaK: (at)NERVSuzaharaT (at)NERVIkariS I shall come as well, then. It sounds fun. Perhaps some of the other girls would like to come as well?

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVNagisaK I like the way you think, man!

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVAyanamiR (at)NERVHorakiH (at)NERVKatsuragiM (at)NERVKirishimaM (at)NERVMakinamiM POOL PARTY! Come join the fun!

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVSuzaharaT Righto, sounds right brilliant

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVSuzaharaT You invited everyone but me? ()

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVIbukiM Nothing personal! I thought you were busy in the computer lab. You're welcome to come, plenty of room in the pool :-D

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVSuzaharaT No thank you, I am reading

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVAyanamiR Put on a bikini and read in a lawn chair by the pool then! You can swim between chapters or something

NERVKirishimaM: (at)NERVSuzaharaT I haven't picked up a suit yet. Sorry guys!

NERVHorakiH: (at)NERVSuzaharaT Sounds fun, I'll finish up this daifuku and join you guys

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVKirishimaM Who needs a suit? You have underwear don't you? :-D If you don't want to get it wet you can go without... haha

NERVKirishimaM: (at)NERVSuzaharaT You're a pig!

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVKirishimaM Haha sorry Kirishima, don't get your panties in a twist ;-) I was just playin

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVSuzaharaT Sounds fun but I have too much work to do. Have fun kiddies! (at)NERVIbukiM He didn't invite Kaji or Dr. Akagi either

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVKatsuragiM He probably didn't want the competition ;-)

NERVSuzaharaT: I've died and gone to heaven!

--

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4: Synchronization For Beginners

**NERV: Evangelion Pilot Academy**

Author's Note: Reference chapter 1 for student&faculty list. As a reminder, as a bonus to this story, also check the twitter account for NERVAcademy. Student and teacher twitter accounts are listed there. You can follow a list or individuals, as your preference, or ignore it completely. It's just bonus characterization outside of the constraints of the story or whatever. As I stated in chapter 2 (after editing it recently) I added the tweetlogs for the pertinent days to the chapters. Partly because tweets were disappearing (and had gotten to the point where you couldn't even get the earliest ones to display anymore) and partly just to make it easier for those that want to read them to get to them. You can still ignore them if you want but likely some of the conversations and events will make more sense if you read them. Anyway sorry for the wait on this chapter, I got distracted and then the tweet business had to have a solution found. Hopefully the wait was worth it at least somewhat.

Chapter 4: Synchronization For Beginners

_29 March 2001 – Hokone, Japan_

Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin rolled her eyes when she walked into the Project E research laboratory of Gehirn, seeing her best friend Yui staring up at a video monitor displaying Lilith. It wasn't the first time the head of projects had done that and it likely wouldn't be the last either. "Yui." She said to get the woman's attention.

Yui looked over her shoulder, her expression going from befuddlement to a friendly smile as she saw who was speaking to her. "Kyoko." She acknowledged with a nod.

"You've been staring at Lilith for hours now, haven't you?" Kyoko inquired with a smile because she already knew the answer.

"You know me too well, Kyoko dear. It helps me think." Yui sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. "It's getting late, isn't it?"

Kyoko laughed softly. "The fact that you're here alone wasn't enough of a clue? No wonder you need Ayanami to keep you grounded. Your head is always in the clouds." She stuck her tongue out teasingly. "So… any special requests for tomorrow?"

Yui quirked an eyebrow up inquisitively. "What, is it my birthday or something?"

The future mother of Asuka gave her friend a patient smile. "Uh… yeah."

The fair Ikari's brought her hand up to cover her gaping mouth, aghast at the revelation. "Oh my god… it _is_ my birthday tomorrow, isn't it?!" A few moments later it had sunken in, so she laughed and shook her head. "I really am a space case. I don't know… I hadn't given it much thou…" She trailed off and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Gendo and Kozo have something planned, don't they?"

Kyoko tried to look innocent, but it failed as usual. "Yeah… kind of. But hey, we can do something tonight. Just you and me… painting the town red. What do you say?"

Yui smiled and put her hand gently on her swollen stomach. "I'd love to, but this little guy has other ideas for me. Do you know how ridiculous I'd look dancing around with this belly?" She shook her head and laughed.

Kyoko tried to hide her disappointment as best she could, covering it with a laugh that came out a bit too sharply. "Yui… you're going to make me go home to my husband. And he's going to want some _affection_, if you know what I mean." She made a funny face as if talking about something completely icky.

"That wouldn't be such a bad thing." Yui remarked thoughtfully. She noticed the skeptical look her friend gave her and so elaborated on her statement. "It's about time you had a baby of your own. Don't you want to give my baby a playmate? You _know_ they'll be the best of friends."

Kyoko frowned. The thought of a baby was appealing but her husband had a bad tendency to stray and that had long since killed her desire to have anything to do with the man physically. "You know Ayanami just had her little girl. Your baby and hers will probably be friends." She sighed when Yui gave her that excessively loving and patient smile of hers. "Fine, fine. You get one baby out of me, Yui. One."

"You're the best, Kyoko." The fair Ikari grinned happily, imagining her baby, Ayanami's, and Kyoko's future baby as the best of friends.

Kyoko smiled and brushed her fingers over Yui's cheek and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "You're damned right I am." She quipped. "You should get home and get some sleep. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

Yui nodded. "Happy birthday to me." She stated with mock grimness.

--

_03 April 2015 – Tokyo-3, Japan_

Makinami Mari Illustrious stared up at the darkened ceiling of her dorm room. Unfortunately it wasn't an unusual occurrence, as bouts of insomnia had plagued her for as long as she remembered. She could hear Soryu in the room to her right, murmuring in her sleep. She did that a lot. Often it was just unintelligible mumbles, but occasionally it was like she was having conversations with someone. At first the sounds were disturbing, but now they were oddly comforting. Knowing that someone was near made her feel better.

In the room to her left was Ayanami's room. For long stretches of time, she'd hear nothing. Then she'd hear the soft pitter-patter of her feet as she walked out of her room. She'd hear the quiet blue-haired girl walk around in the girls' commons for a while, or hear her go to the bathroom. A few times she heard the pilot taking showers during the night, the faraway hiss of falling water and the gentle hum of the pipes vibrating unmistakable. A few times she would hear the soft tapping as the pilot used her MIBI, though since no messages came up on the blog system she figured either the girl was web-surfing or she was sending private messages. Based on her observations of the girl, her guess was sending messages to Lt. Ibuki. The lieutenant looked out for Ayanami in a way the other guardians didn't. There was some kind of bond between them. She couldn't figure out what it was, but what was obvious was that the lieutenant cared about the quiet young pilot in a motherly or big-sisterly fashion. Though the girl rarely spoke and kept a careful distance from everyone else, Mari still couldn't help but like the girl. It might have had something to do with the pleasant smell that always seemed to cling to her though, one that she wasn't yet familiar with.

The other two girls had rooms further away. Horaki's room was on the other side of Soryu's and Kirishima's room was the next one down from that. Occasionally she heard Horaki crying softly. Mari usually didn't hear anything from Kirishima, except the occasional soft snoring. Horaki wasn't hard to figure out. She was serious but shy. She had a passion for cooking and a penchant for taking care of others. She would likely make someone a great wife and a doting mother. In fact, it was fairly obvious that she was the mother hen of her own family. She had seen the girl making meals to send back to her family on a daily basis so it seemed that even away at school she was trying to keep her family fed. She had even overheard the girl on the phone the day before admonishing her obviously younger sister about forgetting to bring her packaged lunch to school with her.

Kirishima, on the other hand, was difficult to get a read on. The girl never seemed to talk about herself, but she asked questions of others quite a bit. Mari hadn't seen the girl make a single phone call yet either. She seemed like the kind of girl who would open up more after getting to know the other students better so she figured she just had to wait for that to happen.

Mari sighed and sat up, knowing the other girls would be waking up soon so she figured she might as well get up, start a pot of coffee and then have a shower. After she had cleaned up and dressed she walked out and saw Asuka and Rei sitting on one of the loveseats in the girls' commons. Though there was one couch and several loveseats, there were also a fair number of individual armchairs and recliners adorning the room so they could have easily been sitting separately if they chose to. What made the situation even more confusing was that though they were both reading, Ayanami a light novel and Soryu a textbook, their hands were mere centimeters apart on the seat cushion between them. Mari's eyebrow quirked up inquisitively as she sipped some coffee and watched the two out of the corner of her eye. Several times she saw Rei look down at their hands, seemingly intently focused on the German girl's hand, but eventually she'd turn her attention back to her novel. _'Strange. I've barely seen them talking and now this suddenly? Are they sweet on each other?'_ Mari wondered.

"What was all that racket last night?" Hikari inquired as she came walking out of her room while yawning and stretching.

"That would be Kirishima's snoring." Mari informed the freckled girl.

"I don't snore!" Mana protested as she poked her head out of her room. After a brief pause she asked, "Really? I had no idea… sorry."

Mari shrugged. "You don't snore every night. But when you do… all I can say is, wow." She smirked at the other girl and then glanced over at Rei and Asuka and noticed their hands were back in their laps. _'If something is going on between those two I guess they're trying to be discrete about it. I've never even noticed any looks shared between them. Maybe I'm misreading this. Soryu may not have even been aware her hand was so close to Ayanami's. If something is going on, I'll keep it to myself until they announce it though. I wouldn't want to embarrass them.'_

Asuka glanced up and saw that all the girls were awake now. "Don't forget, you all have your first synchronization test today. I advise you get there early, the plug suits take a little… getting use to."

"Any advice you could give us on syncing?" Mari inquired.

The red-haired girl looked at Rei, letting her answer first since she had more experience at synchronization. "Try to remain calm and centered and think of the Eva and yourself as one." Rei responded after she realized everyone was looking at her.

"Try not to get distracted and let your mind wander. Focus on being one with the Eva." Asuka added. "Beyond that, you'll just have to learn for yourself. You guys haven't had training like me and Ayanami, so don't be discouraged if your sync rates start out real low. You'll learn what you need to raise them."

"Is there anything else we should know?" Hikari asked as she wrung her hands nervously.

"Yeah." Asuka stated, giving the other girls a very serious look. "Try your best not to puke in the LCL."

"Could that really happen?" Mana inquired in an astonished whisper.

"I vomited the first two times I was immersed in LCL." Rei deadpanned as she flipped pages in her novel.

"First five, here." Asuka added. "It's the worst in the first minute. First because that's when it gets into your lungs, which is always weird and second because it's cold and clammy until the power systems heat it. Once it warms up it's not so bad… until then… well, like I said… try not to vomit."

"Blimey." Mari griped, wondering if it would feel like being immersed in slime. She looked up at the clock and noticed the time then. "It's about time for morning exercises. Shake a leg, ladies."

After everyone had dressed in their gym clothes they went out to the courtyard. Mr. Kaji was talking on a cellular phone, by the sounds of it, arguing with an old friend, so he held up a hand to let them know he would be a few minutes. Mari looked the boys over, admiring their physiques as she did every morning at this time. It was only fair though, since they were doing the same, openly or covertly.

The silver-haired and silver-tongued devil Nagisa Kaoru was talking to the cute but terminally shy Ikari Shinji so the British-born girl moved a bit closer to listen in to their conversation without it being too obvious. "Ah, yes Bach." Nagisa said, obviously responding to something Ikari had said. "I heard that Cello piece you were working on performed live once. This man came out and sat down and started playing the Suite, totally from memory. It was the most hauntingly beautiful rendition of it I had ever heard and he played it brilliantly." Kaoru paused for a few moments and a sad smile crossed his angelic features. "When he finished he sobbed quietly for a minute as the crowd applauded… then he pulled out a gun and blew his brains out."

Shinji stared at the other boy, horror on his face. "That's terrible!"

Kaoru shrugged. "No one ever found out why he did it. I think maybe he accomplished his life goal and was at peace though. His eyes didn't look sad, they looked joyful." The red-eyed boy sighed and turned to look at Mari and gave her a rakish grin. "Good morning, Makinami." The look in his eyes made it clear he knew she had been listening in on them.

Mari could only give the boy a lopsided grin in return, unembarrassed at being caught. "Top of the morning, gents." Her smile only grew when Shinji peeked over at her from the corner of his eye and blushed. She wondered what he would be like if he opened up a bit more. She barely saw him talking to anyone, and usually it was about something else and never about himself. The time she had gotten him talking the second day they were at the academy was the only time she had seen or heard of him talking about himself; most of the time he just stared at the floor and cautiously edged away a bit whenever someone approached him. It presented an interesting challenge to her that she undertook whenever the mood struck her.

She shifted her gaze over to Aida and Suzahara. Aida was prattling on about some new rifle accessory of something to that effect and Suzahara was obviously barely listening as he stared off towards the sunrise. Kensuke wasn't that hard to figure out. He spent all his energy focusing on everything else, the people around him, the weapons and technology, what everyone else was doing, so that he wouldn't have to look at himself. Mari had seen it before and it was something she was also guilty of quite often. The main difference between them thought was that when Aida looked at everyone else, he wanted the focus on them, but when Makinami did it, _she_ wanted attention from _them_. She knew she could be self-centered but she also knew she could have been a lot worse things, so she didn't care.

Suzahara… he was a mystery. He acted brash and crude and tried to make it seem suave and charming, but when no one was looking at him, he was quiet, thoughtful, and melancholic even. Something occupied his thoughts and he spent so much energy making the people around him sigh and roll their eyes and try to ignore him that it worked very well at keeping them from really looking at him. Mari had been intrigued but then she noticed Mana's eyes when she looked at the boy. She tried to hide it but she reacted explosively to the boy's teasing so often, even when it wasn't directed at her, that it was obvious to everyone but her that she had a thing for the jock. She could have made a move on the tall boy anyway, but it was Girl Code where she came from to back off when it was obvious another girl liked a boy more than you did, even when she didn't realize it herself. The calculating gleam in Toji's eyes when he got a rise out of the short-haired brunette made it obvious that he realized he had a chance with her so Makinami just watched from a distance. She wondered if Mana would open up and reveal more about herself if she did indeed start a romance with the athletically-gifted Suzahara.

"Sorry about that." Kaji stated as he hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket. "Ayanami, you could have started them on the warm-up exercises." He gave the frail-looking pilot a teasing smile.

"You did not ask me to." Rei responded softly.

Kaji gave an expressive shrug as his smile grew. "I couldn't bring myself to order around a delicate and lovely flower such as you."

Ayanami blinked and stared at the man silently.

Unfazed, the ex-spy put them through the normal morning routine of tai chi and "invigorating exercises". Breakfast passed rather uneventfully, Mari had her typical breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, sausages and toast with a nice steaming mug of tea. She was still trying to sweet-talk Sgt. Oi in to ordering and preparing some of her other favorites like baked beans and black pudding, but so far the only breakfast items the cadets had convinced her to look in to adding were hashed browns and steamed fish. Still, it was a start. Asuka had ruined it for the rest of them for a while by trying to explain to the sergeant about all the different sausages and the best times to make them. After listening for a while, the cook got tired of the lesson and politely (mostly) told the girl to sit down, shut up, and eat what was cooked.

"Horaki is trying to get back into the kitchen again." Asuka whispered to her with a gentle nudge to the ribs.

Mari giggled as she watched the pig-tailed girl. "She's going to get her face kicked in one of these days."

"Out! Get out of my kitchen!" Sgt. Oi yelled, chasing the freckled girl out of the kitchen with a rolling pin clutched in her hand.

"I was only trying to help!" Hikari cried in a squeak.

Satsuki pointed a finger at the girl as she scowled. "You save the world, I cook your breakfast. Touch my spatulas again and I'll have your ass in a sling!"

"She makes that threat every day." Asuka observed with a laugh.

"And Horaki tries to help cook breakfast every day. Who needs morning cartoons with entertainment like that?" Mari joked.

The German girl leaned over and smiled at Rei. "How's your snot this morning?" She inquired, using her teasing term for miso soup.

Ayanami took a sip. "Delicious." She stated without emotion.

"Yum yum. I see you went with boogers and phlegm this time." Asuka continued the tease, using her favored terms for tofu and sea weeds.

Rei took another sip. "Yes." She responded.

The red-haired girl pulled a granola bar from her pocket and held it in such a way that only about a centimeter reached past her fingers. "Have a granola bar." She offered the blue-haired beauty.

The frail pilot's eyebrows creased slightly as she regarded the granola bar, mere centimeters from her hand. She reached out tentatively, paused, and then rested her hand back on the table. Her crimson eyes rose up to meet the other girl's royal blue orbs.

Asuka reached down with her other hand and pushed the bar another centimeter out and stopped there. "That's as far as it's going." She murmured.

Ayanami reached out again, regarded the bar from one angle and then another, and then gingerly took it. "Thank you, Soryu."

"Sure thing, Ayanami." Asuka responded. She glanced over and noticed Mari giving her a puzzled look. "What? You want a granola bar too?"

"No, thank you." The British girl replied. She was still baffled about what was going on between the other two girls. Mari decided she'd have to pay a little more attention to them as discretely as she could to figure out what it was they were doing.

"Are you nervous about the sync test?" Asuka inquired as she idly chewed on a piece of bacon.

Mari's brow furrowed as she contemplated that question. "No. Should I be? I mean… it's just for the initial reading, right?"

"Just for the initial reading, she says." The red-haired beauty quipped. "You do realize that the cadets with the highest initial readings are the ones most likely to be assigned to Unit 01? Yeah they'll look at other stuff but really… they're going to pick from the top three or four."

The British girl frowned as she considered that. Besides the brain scan test they had done on them to test their compatibility for the Eva system, a test they had done in all the schools and on all the young men and women of the world, she didn't know anything else about synchronization. Soryu, on the other hand, had spent the last eight months developing the training regimen that they would be using, and being testing rather frequently to determine how well the training worked. So if Asuka said there was some cause for nervousness, Mari had to believe her. "Do you still stand by your predictions?" She was referring to a MIBI post the girl had made from her initial observations about the other pilots.

Asuka shrugged. "I'd lay money on me, you, Nagisa and in the top four. I'm not so sure about Kirishima any more though. I'm thinking Ikari instead for the fourth."

Mari considered that thoughtfully. "What are you basing that on?"

"I know what I'm doing and have been steadily improving my sync results all this time, so I'm pretty much a given." The German girl replied, stating the obvious. "You've got the right mix of drive and balanced emotions; in other words, the right mindset and the will to make it happen. Nagisa is the very picture of the serene mindset. He won't have much difficulty attuning his mind to the Eva. We'll have to see what he can do with that though. Ikari… well his mother had a natural talent for synchronization. When she and my mama were really trying, they produced an AT-field that even Ayanami over here hasn't approached the strength of yet. If he's anything at all like his mother, he'll do the same. We'll just have to see if he can muster up the will to use that talent, is all."

Makinami took her glasses off and cleaned them as she considered the other girl's observations. "That's all there is to it?"

Asuka shrugged. "There's more to it than that. And I may be completely wrong. I don't have any clue what those others are capable of so my assumptions for them are based purely on their behavior. But as I said, I'm confident enough to put money on it." She grinned and turned to Ayanami. "You sure you don't want a piece of bacon?"

"I dislike eating meat, Soryu." Rei responded, not even glancing up from the novel she had resumed reading.

The redhead snorted and regarded the bacon thoughtfully. "If you think there's actual meat in this, you have a higher estimation of it than I do. Most meats nowadays are imitation meat. What do you think that stuff is made from? Probably the same crap you eat. So this piece of bacon I'm holding in my delicate little fingers is probably right up your alley."

"It still tastes like meat, even if it is not." The blue-haired girl stated. She glanced up and regarded the bacon piece. "It smells like death."

Asuka shrugged. "Yeah, I can't argue with that." A devilish gleam entered into her eyes and she broke a small piece off and flicked it across the cafeteria, pegging the young Ikari in the back of the neck. He jumped as if electrocuted and whipped his hand up to his neck as he started looking around. The German girl put her hands up in an over-exaggerated shrug when the boy cast his accusing glare over at her. She moved her hands in a pantomime of the bacon slipping out of her hand and miraculously sailing the few yards between where the girls were sitting and to the boy. He shook his head, obviously not buying her interpretation of events, and turned back to his meal.

Mari glanced over at Mana when she heard the girl's MIBI make the incoming message ping sound. She frowned thoughtfully and looked down at her own, seeing no new messages. Suddenly Mana jumped up and yelled "Damn it, Suzahara! That's _gross_!" She turned and stormed off.

The British girl looked over at the boy and saw a smug grin plastered on his lips. "She asked what I was going to do after the sync test. She didn't specify that it wasn't what I _hoped_ I'd be doing later that she wanted to know." She overheard the boy telling Kensuke. Mari shook her head in mild amusement, knowing what the message had likely entailed.

Asuka stood up and picked up her backpack and started searching through it. "Well, I'm going to go for a walk before the sync test to clear my head. Here's that book you asked for, by the way." She pulled a book from the bag and held it towards Ayanami.

Rei regarded the book for a few moments and then looked up at the red-haired girl. "Oh." She regarded the book again and stared at it.

The German girl was still for a few moments and then set it down in front of the quiet blue-haired girl. "You're doing well." The girl murmured softly, likely not realizing she was overheard. She left without another word.

The red-eyed girl picked the book up and flipped through a few pages curiously before she leaned down to put the book in her bag, but she made no comment aloud.

Mari shrugged and got up to leave as well. "Cheerio, Ayanami." She said and she wasn't surprised when the pilot ignored her. She heard a whistle and looked over her shoulder to see Suzahara was giving her an appreciative look. The British girl smiled teasingly and added a bit more of a wiggle to her hips as she walked out.

She went up to the computer lab and waved at Lt. Ibuki as she got on one of the computers and killed some time by doing some web surfing. A few hours later it was time for the initial synchronization testing. Mari made her way to the Eva cage area and into the girls' locker room. "These are those plugsuits you guys mentioned?" She inquired, which earned a nod from Asuka as the girl pried on a blood red plugsuit. The British girl watched her for a few moments to see how the suit was put on. "Blimey, no knickers even, huh?"

"Not if you value your skin." The redhead replied. "If I wore anything under this, it'd dig into my skin when all the air gets sucked out. Hurts like a bitch. It also adds dissonance to the synchronization process so that's another reason to go without. That's why we use these suits instead of just any old thing."

Mari noticed a number of plugsuits hanging up so looked through them to find some her size. A smile came to her lips when she noticed all the ones her size were a nice green color. It was as if they had already known her favorite color. She glanced up as Hikari walked in and was also told the ins and outs of plugsuits. "God, I hope I fit into this thing." The girl wished aloud as she pulled the suit up her legs, pushed her arms down into it, and reached back to secure the suit in place. "So far so good… if I weighed 100 kilos, anyway. How did you…" The brunette waved her hands to indicate the suit becoming form fitting.

"The button on your wrist." Asuka responded, pointing out the button used to vent the air out of the suit.

"Ok, here goes." Mari stated and hit the button. A sharp hiss filled the room as the air was sucked out of the suit at the same time as it shrunk to a snug fit. "Blimey! A bit tight in the chest, isn't it?"

The German girl frowned and glanced down at her own bust. "Mine fits just fine. I guess they didn't realize that a girl of your _stature_ was going to be here." Asuka gave the other girl a teasing grin and waved her hands in front of her chest to indicate her meaning.

Mari laughed and tried to peer over her shoulder at herself. "Does my bum look half as good in this thing as yours does?" She inquired.

Asuka smirked. "Yeah, this suit doesn't leave much to the imagination."

"It doesn't feel too bad." Hikari stated. Her eyes rested on Mari's figure and she looked down at her own and a bit of a disappointed frown formed on her lips as she made comparisons. "How's the color on me?" She inquired of the golden orange plugsuit she had selected.

"Makes your skin glow, mate." Mari responded. "Give us a wiggle?" She grinned teasingly.

"It looks fine." Asuka responded, not bothering to comment on the girl's blush from the tease. "Ayanami and Kirishima are already out there so let's go."

They walked out and saw a dozen or so plugs waiting to be occupied by intrepid young pilots and wicked looking half-formed headless mechanical bodies suspended from masses of cables and wires. "These are the simulation Evas?" Mari inquired.

"Correct. When you guys are ready, go ahead and get inside." Misato's voice floated down from the observation deck.

Mari and Hikari watched as Asuka stepped into one of the empty plugs and then followed suit, seeing it was as simple as getting inside and sitting down on the conveniently located chair. Before the British girl had a chance to ask what to do next, she felt the plug being lifted. She realized they were going to be lowered into the simulation bodies so she tried to remain as calm as possible.

"We're going to test you all with different core configurations until we determine which digital soul you synchronize with the most. It'll take a while and you'll probably feel kind of weird as different minds come into contact with your own, but try to remain as calm and centered as possible." Misato informed them.

"We're going to fill the plugs with LCL fluid. It'll directly oxygenate your blood so don't try to hold your breath. Trust me, you'll get use to it." Ritsuko informed them. A moment later the plugs started filling with the viscous fluid.

Mari's eyes drifted closed as she took in the odor of the fluid. It was an odd scent, a unique mix of blood, amniotic fluid, oranges and a smell she couldn't identify but the primal part of her brain recognized it as "mother". In fact, the smell was very much like the smell of a mother that had just given birth. Most people would find the pungent scent to be unpleasant, in fact Mari could hear a number of the other pilots complaining about it, but to her it was heavenly. She couldn't help but take a big gulp of LCL when the fluid level hit the level of her nose. "Blimey… this is why Ayanami always smells so good." The girl realized. A holographic image of Rei lit up for a moment as the girl looked at her because her name was mentioned and then the picture vanished without a comment being made. The British girl smiled to herself sheepishly, realizing the girl had heard what she said.

For a few minutes the faces of the other cadets lit up as they made comments but they were quickly told to calm down and remain quiet so they could concentrate on synchronization. Mari's eyes wandered over the holographic interior of the plug, seeing a myriad of images swirling around but nothing specific. Then she heard Lt. Ibuki say the first core configurations were in place and a presence was in her mind that was not her own. The feeling was rather like someone you didn't know had just entered your room, or the place you felt most safe and secure if your room wasn't that place. "Hello." Makinami murmured, trying her best to remain calm and centered and simply let this presence feel at home.

What they hadn't prepared her for was how utterly mentally exhausting it was to synchronize, especially with a few dozen different other souls. The busty brunette had no idea which one had the highest synchronization rate with her but she assumed she'd find out the next time they did sync tests. She tried to keep her mind blank and tranquil but she couldn't help letting it wander. Mari wondered if the pilot assigned to Unit 01 would have the berserking issue that Ayanami had had with Unit 00. Supposedly the problem was blamed on the soul being entirely fabricated, whereas the soul patterns the rest of them were synchronizing with were based on real people. The more mature thought patterns were supposed to be more stable, according to Dr. Akagi.

Unit 00's soul had been like a newborn baby, without any understanding of the world around it. When the first sensation it felt was Ayanami's fear, it had reacted with its own. It had taken a long time and lots of trust, but supposedly Unit 00 was more stable now. However, it could possibly be likened to a toddler now so Mari wondered just how stable it really was. Her eyes opened and she noticed Rei was standing outside of her plug and looking up at them. She hadn't had to be tested with all the other patterns because Unit 00's couldn't be replaced. Removing the Eva's soul would be the same as killing it, which was why a core placement was so critically important. When a pilot was chosen for Unit 01, the compatible core would be inserted and if the pilot wasn't good enough to handle it, they were out of luck.

Mari wondered what it was like for the quiet blue-haired albino, to have the weight of the world solely on her shoulders. If an angel attacked now, there was no one to help the girl. If something happened to her outside of the Eva, they would be out of luck then too, as no other pilot would be able to produce an AT field in Unit 00. So inside the Eva or not, the responsibility of staying alive and well was on the girl, while she had to be concerned with being the last and only real line of defense against the progeny of the being who was responsible for over three billion deaths. Ayanami Rei, 14 years old, emotionally crippled orphan: chosen savior of humanity. "God, I wish I could help you." Mari murmured, feeling sympathy overwhelming her.

"Quiet, Cadet Makinami! We're getting a dissonance error from you. Focus!" Dr. Akagi snapped.

"Sorry!" Mari said in a hurry. It looked like Rei was looking directly at her… The British girl shook her head and closed her eyes when she heard Ritsuko grumbling her name again.

"Ok, that's all for today, cadets. You all did well. We'll let you know the results of the testing later." Major Katsuragi informed them. A moment later their plugs were returned to their loading position and the hatches were opened, letting the LCL drain out into the pool below the metal grating.

Mari shook her head. She felt a bit tired but otherwise fine, but she noticed Shinji was rubbing his temples, probably with a headache. She enjoyed the scent of LCL a bit longer and then went back into the girls' locker room to change out of her plugsuit and take a shower, more because the fluid was sticky and a bit gummy in her hair than because of the smell. When she hit the release button on her plugsuit, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, my poor girls. Come out and have a breath of fresh air!" She murmured, rubbing her sore breasts as she wondered if the plugsuits would stretch or if she would become accustomed to the tight fit.

"All that testing with different soul patterns and I'll bet they'll end up using the one I've been syncing with all this time anyway." Asuka stated with an expressive shrug. "Still, if it's different I wonder how much higher my sync ratio will be." The German girl looked up and noticed the busty girl gingerly rubbing her breasts. She watched silently for a few moments and then inquired, "Was it painful?"

Mari shrugged and dropped her hands. "You know that feeling you get if you're wearing a bra that's a size too small? It was like that, kind of."

Asuka was silent for a moment and then shrugged and looked away. "Well, I don't see any bruising but you might want to take a closer look at them tomorrow. Mention it to Dr. Akagi, maybe she can figure out a special bra for you that won't pinch your skin under the plugsuit. I had one about five months ago to wear under the test plugsuits, but that was more about modesty than comfort. At first I didn't care but then the technicians started staring too much and it got uncomfortable." The girl shrugged and finished getting dressed. "See ya later." She said, casually waving her hand as she walked out.

"Maybe they make a plugsuit a size bigger?" Mana suggested. She thought about that for a moment and then shook her head. "I guess it'd collapse to the same form-fitting size though, wouldn't it? Ah, the tribulations of being busty." Her tone was somewhere between amused and catty. "Anyway, I'm going to watch some television." She left without waiting for a reply.

Later on they received the results of the sync testing. She wasn't in the top three but she was scraping by at the fourth place amongst cadets at least. "Damn… behind Soryu I can't be surprised about but the boys are ahead of me too?" For the first time she was actually concerned. Originally when she had learned she would train to be an Eva pilot, she was excited. The thought of being special, to get all that attention and accolade, it was an intoxicating notion. But now that she was here, now that she saw the terrible burden on Ayanami's shoulders, she found herself just wanting to help carry it. Sure, being special would be awesome as well, but she had more of a reason now than that simple desire. And it wasn't looking good for her to do her part any time soon and that frustrated her, so much so that she made Major Katsuragi annoyed with her by pestering her with questions.

Aida, the boy who had tested at the lowest sync rate of all of them, was the first to take action, asking Mr. Kaji for extra help. "Brilliant, why didn't I think of that?" Mari wondered aloud. When the man agreed and offered help to anyone that wanted it, Mari didn't hesitate to pipe in that she was on her way for the help as well.

The ex-spy didn't even look perturbed at already giving extra lessons. Instead, he gave everyone a friendly smile as he went back over the tai chi forms they were working on and correcting people on their stances and breathing. "Let your mind become empty, the thoughts running out of your head like water. Focus only on the movement and the world around you. The wind whistling past you, the trees swaying, the earth beneath your feet; be at one with the world." He said in a soothing voice.

Several hours passed, and just as they were all more than ready to quit, Misato messaged them letting them know pizza and partying was awaiting them. Mari grinned at the thought. "Yeah… yeah it's time to have some fun."

--

NERV log for 3rd April 2015

NERVAyanamiR: No problems to report

NERVMakinamiM: Blimey, LCL fluid smells so good. If they made perfume from it, I'd buy it

NERVSuzaharaT: Oh man I'm tired. But it was worth staying up to ogle the girls in swimsuits :-D

NERVKirishimaM: (at)NERVSuzaharaT Wow, you really are a pig

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVMakinamiM Weirdo

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVKirishimaM Don't be jealous babe. I'd have ogled you too if you had shown up

NERVKatsuragiM: Initial testing went well. You should all be proud of yourselves

NERVIkariS: I've got a bit of a headache. Is it because of the test? Should I expect that?

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVKatsuragiM Do you have the results yet? Who had the highest sync ratio?

NERVAkagiR: (at)NERVIkariS Come see me for a checkup

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVSoryuA Pilot Ayanami had the highest sync ratio

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVAkagiR It's just a headache, it's no big deal

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVKatsuragiM I meant besides Ayanami. Who amongst the cadets?

NERVAkagiR: (at)NERVIkariS That was an order, not a suggestion. It might be nothing or it might be your interface needs fine tuning. I need to examine you

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVSoryuA You, Ikari and Nagisa were at fairly competitive sync rates. Yours was the highest. The other cadets did well also

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVAkagiR Yes ma'am. En route

NERVSoryuA: See? I told you all I'd be #1

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVKatsuragiM My sync ratio wasn't very good then?

NERVIbukiM: Day passes will be available tomorrow afternoon. If you wish to use one, speak to your guardian by the end of today

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVMakinamiM You were the next highest but you were a bit below the cadets I mentioned, yes

NERVKatsuragiM: Pilots keep in mind that the sync testing today was INITIAL RESULTS. With two exceptions, the rest of you haven't had training yet

NERVHorakiH: (at)NERVKatsuragiM Who was the lowest then? Was it me?

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVHorakiH No, Aida's was the lowest. Yours was the second lowest though.

NERVKatsuragiM: Since you're all going to keep asking: Ayanami Soryu Nagisa Ikari Makinami Suzahara Kirishima Horaki Aida

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVKatsuragiM How much below Ikari am I? Should I be concerned?

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVMakinamiM It doesn't matter, give it your all either way

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVKatsuragiM But if I had an idea of how much ground I'd have to cover it would give me a goal to focus on

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVMakinamiM You're trying my patience, cadet. Give it a rest

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVKatsuragiM Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am.

NERVAidaK: I'm the underdog, huh? I guess I'll just have to give it my all

NERVAidaK: (at)NERVKajiR Could I work with you a bit on my tai chi, or meditation, or something? If you're not too busy that is

NERVKajiR: All right, anyone wanting extra help from me, we'll be doing tai chi exercises for a while and see where it leads from there.

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVKajiR Poor Kaji, classes haven't even started yet and you're already doing extra lessons

NERVAidaK: (at)NERVKajiR On my way!

NERVSoryuA: (at)NERVKajiR Ok I'll be there

NERVMakinamiM: (at)NERVKajiR Coming

NERVKatsuragiM: I ordered pizza for everyone. Music and fun to be had in the commons!

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVKatsuragiM I'll be there with bells on! Woo! Party time!

NERVKatsuragiM: (at)NERVAyanamiR Come join the party! Yes, that's an order.

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVKatsuragiM Understood. En route

NERVNagisaK: I must say the sight of Suzahara dancing makes today worthwhile by any definition

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVNagisaK You know it buddy, I can cut a rug!

NERVSuzaharaT: I'd pay good money to see Ayanami actually get up and dance with us ;-)

NERVIkariS: (at)NERVSuzaharaT You're embarrassing her Suzahara

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVIbukiM May I have permission to leave, Lt. Ibuki?

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVAyanamiR Yes, you're dismissed. Good night Pilot Ayanami

NERVSuzaharaT: (at)NERVAyanamiR Aw dance with us next time Ayanami! We won't bite

NERVAcademy: Saturday schedule: 0700 Morning exercises 0800 Breakfast 0900 Safety procedures class 1000-1400 Electives 1400 Lunch 1500-2100 Day passes

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVIbukiM May I have a day pass tomorrow to visit the park?

NERVIbukiM: (at)NERVAyanamiR Yes you may. Would you like company? I'll treat you to dinner afterwards

NERVAyanamiR: (at)NERVIbukiM If that is your desire, yes.

--

End of Chapter 4


End file.
